The purpose of the present study has been to investigate the attitudes of personell involved in the preschoolorganisation in a Swedish commune regarding injury risks for children in pre-school. Sixrespondents were interviewed in a qualitative interview study.Two different pre-school units were investigated, and it was found that they had surprisingly largedifferences in how they were working with children safety. However, in summary it can be said that therespondents perceived that child safety should encompass a safe and secure environment, however withthe important caveat that accidents can never be completely excluded, due to the natural anddevelopmentally important play of children.The investigated commune and pre-school units improved children safety mainly by using yearlyplanning meetings (Sw. "barnskyddsrond") where the physical environment in the school wasinvestigated together with external specialists. However, there are important differences in how the unitsworked within this framework, some units actively encouraging and others discouraging children andparent participation in the work.

Concern for children’s safety and protection has become a global issue and has evoked considerable debate since the publication of the United Nations’ widely ratified Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989. A dominant theme within this charter and within the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990) is the recognition that children are individuals with rights that need to be respected and protected. More specifically, Article 32 of the UNCRC states that children should be protected from ‘economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development’. Nigeria has signed and ratified both the UNCRC and the African Charter and has committed itself to ensuring the welfare and protection of its children. This thesis examines children’s work experiences and their interpretations of these against the backdrop of the provisions of the UNCRC and the African charter. The study sets out to explore the meanings of work for itinerant street vending children and young people in Enugu, Nigeria and is based on a combined ethnographic methodology of participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 24 child vendors in marketplaces over a period of six months. It will be argued that contemporary ideas about children’s work are framed by Euro-centric, adult perceptions and definitions of what they think working children are doing, and that the imposition of Western constructions of childhood does not reflect the lived realities of children. Discussions with children revealed, among other things, a contradiction and ambivalence in their understandings of work in relation to vending and an interplay of complex environmental, cultural and poverty factors. In children’s views, taking responsibilities in activities that add positive values to their personal development and to the continued survival of their families was part of their childhood. Whilst street based observations of the markets revealed some fundamental dangers and problems with street vending, especially the reality of physical, social and emotional abuse, these young children have developed robust coping mechanisms and social networks which reflect a blend of definitional adjustments, rationalisation and social bonding and which reveal inadequacies in the enforcement of child protection policies. The tension between these risks and the importance of vending in the lives of the children is discussed. The role and type of work are further examined against dominant cultural values and socio economic realities in Nigeria in an attempt to fully explain the phenomenon of children’s work in this milieu. This study concludes that children’s participation in vending, while at times both ‘hazardous’ and ‘harmful’, is a fact of life and a way of life for children growing up in Nigeria, an integral part of their childhood activity, and a realistic preparation for their future lives and careers. It is argued that this raises important challenges not only to the children’s rights agenda, but also to social welfare agencies which seek to provide support to children and young people in developing countries such as Nigeria.

The maltreatment of children impacts individuals, communities, states, and societies. One response to the problem is the removal of children from their families, which can cause significant trauma for all involved. Moreover, the financial, legal, and emotional costs increase exponentially when subsequent re-removal, known as reactivation, occurs. Nationwide, the rate of reactivation averages just over 6%; in Arizona, the rate is significantly higher, with 11% of children being reactivated within 2 years of initial reunification. The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to determine whether poverty, ethnicity, parental substance use, parental employment, marital status, and number of children in the home is predictive of reactivation following reunification. The study was grounded in Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory and Brown's multiple risk factors model. Archival data of 627 family case files from a social service agency were analyzed using logistic regression. Results revealed that number of children was the only significant predictor, with fewer children resulting in higher reactivation rates. The lack of findings for the other predictor variables in light of extant research suggests that further research is needed to determine the unusually high rate of reactivations in this particular region. Further study may thus effect positive social change through findings that may impact educational and social welfare programs, legislative action, and enhancement of family skills training and resources.

Car accidents happens daily, and it is very important to protect all involved in a carno matter the age. Persons that are old enough and can take care of themselves, usescar seat belts to be protected in traffic. A child, however, must be placed andfastened in a safety seat by a parent or another caregiver, to be fully protected. Children that are correctly secured in safety seats have a 2.7 times bigger chance tosurvive a car crash without serious injuries compared to unstrained children (Berget al., 2000; WHO,2004). Regardless tests and safety seats that are available ontoday’s market, there are still issues that needs to be eliminated. Daily users of thisproduct are a good starting point since these people want a safe seat for their childthat can be easy to install and affordable; and they can best tell what issues theyencounter. Based on several scientific articles in a combination with interviews andobservations, issues with the safety seats could be confirmed. The primary issue isthe seat belt that is attached to the safety seat. Children can develop a habit ofwriggling out of the belt in safety seats. There are belt collectors available on themarket which holds the shoulder belts in place. In this way, it is harder for thechildren to slide out of the belt and helps to keep the belt properly positioned(BeSafe, 2018). Instead of having this as an accessory, it has been considered in thebelt that have been developed. Another issue is that the belt is complicated tofastened since two straps has to be simultaneously clicked in the belt buckle. If thisis done incorrectly, the belt cannot be fastened, and it takes time to try it again. Tomake this easier, two straps and the strap between the child's leg will be fastenedseparately in a seat buckle each. In this way, parents and other caregivers will beable to fasten the belt easy and properly. They will also be sure that the child issafely fastened and will minimize injury during an accident or another situation.

This study was made within the Child Safety group at Volvo Car Corporation.  The purpose of this bachelor thesis was to study the different aspects of rearward facing child restraint systems, which is the safest way for small children to travel, in order to suggest improvements in the development of child restraint systems. The studies included scientific articles regarding child safety and fatally injured children in car accidents, both in Sweden and internationally. The overall aim is to find factors that enables the increase in usage of rearward facing child restraint systems, including the increase of usage time to as long as possible.   Swedish accident data, obtained by the Swedish Traffic Data Acquisation, was studied. It was found that the fatally injured children during car accidents in Sweden between the years 2000-2016 commonly were involved in extraordinarily accident scenarios with an outcome independent of how they were restrained. The literature study and the survey that was made were both supporting the statement of inconvenience while using rearward facing child restraint systems. The inconvenience often corresponded to different types of misuse. The main issue with rearward facing according to the responding parents was lack of leg space, both for their child but also for the driver and the front seat passenger. These issues made some parents turning their children forward facing at early age, whereas they could still fit in the rearward facing child restraint system.   One key in order to increase the global use of rearward facing child restraint systems lies in changes of the materials and design. A more lightweight and compact design is suggested, providing a more spacious travel environment for the children and easier mounting for the parents. The need of education is apparent, preferable by means of social media due to the easiness of sending information globally with low cost.

OBJECTIVES: To compare morbidity and mortality between pediatric victims of motor vehicle collisions (MVC) who were unrestrained to those restrained and to describe compliance with child restraint usage in our population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective consecutive chart review study was performed on MVC victims 14 years old and younger who presented to our academic, level 1 trauma emergency department in 2003. Each patient's emergency department and hospital course was reviewed and data were collected. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for unrestrained children with respect to restrained children for fractures; intraabdominal injuries, intrathoracic injuries, intracranial injuries, admission, surgery, blood transfusion, intubation; and deaths. Hospital charges and length of hospital stay were compared between those unrestrained and restrained. Percentage of children unrestrained was determined. RESULTS: Of 336 patients, 81 (24%) were unrestrained. Mean hospital stay for unrestrained children was longer, 1.94 days (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.75-3.12) versus 0.098 days (95% CI 0.02-0.21). Unrestrained victims had higher mean charges, $14,754 (95% CI $7676-$21,831) versus $1996 (95% CI $1207-$2786). Admissions (OR = 14.48, 95% CI 5.91-38.63), fractures (OR = 5.85, 95% CI 2.13-16.89), intraabdominal injuries (OR = 20.16, 95% CI 2.36-930.68), and intrathoracic injuries (OR = 13.09, 95% CI 1.26-647.05) were all more likely in unrestrained patients. No restrained child had intracranial injury, whereas 9/81 (11.11%) of unrestrained did. Odds were higher in unrestrained for surgery [OR = 13.09, 95% CI 3.30-74.33] and transfusion [OR = 27.61, 95% CI 3.56-229.85]. Ten out of 81 (12.35%) of unrestrained children required intubation versus none for restrained. The only 2 mortalities were unrestrained patients. CONCLUSION: Critical injuries and cost of care are higher in unrestrained than restrained children. Improved compliance with child safety restraint in southern Arizona should decrease childhood morbidity and mortality from MVCs.

No description available.

No description available.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under and of these children who were fatally injured more that 60 % were not using safety restraints at the time of the collision. Children who are too large for child safety seats are often restrained improperly or not at all. In addition, many children are being shifted from child safety seats to adult safety belts prematurely. For proper protection, children who have outgrown child safety seats require booster seats combined with vehicle lap/shoulder belts. A booster seat raises a child up so that the lap and shoulder belts fit properly. The current research went through a systematic approach, from several perspectives, to develop an effective pamphlet to increase behavioral compliance of purchasing a booster seat. The pamphlet developed throughout these studies had a substantial and positive effect on intention and perceived control as well as a meaningful and substantial impact on actual purchase behavior. In addition, the associated guidelines that were developed allow others to produce effective printed educational materials. This research consisted of five studies described below. Study 1 consisted of 43 subject matter experts who were used to determine pertinent information that should be included in a complete booster seat pamphlet. Nine of the 20 items showed significance and were included in the first iteration of the pamphlet. Study 2 consisted of 5 parents of children who should be in booster seats and were not at the time of the study, evaluated the usability of the first iteration pamphlet. A total of 18 items were changed in the pamphlet and a subsequent second iteration of the pamphlet was developed. Study 3 consisted of 30 parents of children who should be in booster seats and were not at the time of the study, were used to assess the comprehensibility (Cloze test), hazard-risk judgments (carefulness ratings), and understandability (questionnaire) of three booster seat pamphlets. Significance was found for the second iteration pamphlet in both comprehensibility and understandability, but no significance was found in risk perception. Study 4 consisted of 8 human factors graduate students who were used to assess the reading level (SMOG test), instructional design and inclusion of learning principles (BIDS-3 test), and readability (RAINS test) of three booster seat pamphlets. The second iteration pamphlet and two existing industry pamphlets were used in Studies 3 and 4 and significance was found for the second iteration pamphlet in both instructional design and learning principles as well as readability and was the only pamphlet to have a reading level under 8th grade. Subsequent to these studies a third iteration of the new pamphlet was developed. Study 5 consisted of 45 parents of children who should be in booster seats and were not at the time of the study. Three booster seat pamphlets, two from the child passenger safety industry and the third iteration pamphlet were used as treatments (15 participants per group). Effectiveness of the intervention was tested by assessing three variables, intent to purchase (revealed that when intent was high purchase was high), perceived control of purchasing (revealed that when perceived control was high purchase was high), and actual purchase behavior (third iteration pamphlet showed a significantly higher purchase rate than the industry pamphlets). Of the 19 participants who purchased a booster seat, there were 12 (63%) in the third iteration pamphlet group, 2 (11%) in the alternate 1 pamphlet group, and 5 (26%) in the alternate 2 pamphlet group, and 100% of those who purchased, reported that they use them each time their child rides in a vehicle. This research increased our understanding of information design and well as generating general design guidelines for pamphlets. In addition, this research produced a pamphlet for credible sources to use as an education tool for parents who have children who should be in booster seats and are not placed in them when riding in a vehicle. / Ph. D.

The "Actively Caring for KIDS Process," a multi-component program that taught retail store sales associates to act as behavior-change agents for child passenger safety, was implemented at a nationwide-chain discount store and evaluated with an interrupted time series design and a similar control site for comparison. Key components of the KIDS Process included a) training of sales associates to act as behavior-change agents at the point-of-purchase, b) the use of in-store awareness and supportive materials such as posters and sales associate buttons, and c) incentives for participation in checkpoints. Safety-seat checks (n = 31) were held in store parking lots, where caregivers' safety-seat installations (n = 241) were recorded as safe or at-risk for a variety of criteria and then the seats were reinstalled correctly. Research assistants posing as child caregivers visited the retail stores (n = 156) with the purported objective of obtaining information about selecting and installing a safety seat. Information given by sales associates was systematically recorded as safe or at-risk on a checklist. A 2 (Store) x 2 (Phase) ANOVA on sales associates' percent safe information scores revealed a significant interaction and no main effects. The Control store did not differ across the two phases, but scores at the intervention store were significantly higher after the intervention than during pre-intervention and when compared to the Control store during post-intervention. The training of sales associates resulted in an average 65% increase in percent safe scores. At the parking lot checks, 93 percent of seats checked were misused in one or more ways, with an average of four errors per seat. ANOVA and Chi-square analyses indicated that the intervention failed to have an impact on child safety-seat misuse observed or on the number of participants attending the checkpoints. This is likely a result of few parents attending the checkpoints who had talked to our trained associates. To target more parents, this intervention might be better placed at well-baby checkups. / Ph. D.