Dear Partners,
I am excited to draw your attention to the below resources that provide important data to inform our collective effort to advance health equity, prioritize efforts for youth who are underserved, and disseminate injury and violence prevention recommendations. February features awareness events for two important injury and violence prevention topics: Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and National Burn Awareness Week.
Last month, CSN released a new Teen Dating Violence Prevention Fact Sheet, developed by the Children’s Safety Now Alliance, that features the most recent data on the prevalence of teen dating violence and disparities among populations by sex, sexual identity, and race/ethnicity. Dating can be a new and exciting phase in teens’ lives, but for many it can also include different forms of violence that can cause short- and long-term harm to physical and mental health.
In 2019, among the 66% of students who reported having dated or gone out with someone in the past year, about 1 in 12 students experienced physical dating violence, and about 1 in 12 experienced sexual dating violence (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020).
Fire and Burn Awareness Week takes place during the first full week of February. There are numerous ways that fire-and-burn-related injuries can be prevented, including safely storing matches, lighters, and gasoline, installing smoke detectors, and developing and practicing a fire evacuation plan. Below are some CSN resources related to fire and burn safety, where more prevention practices can be found:
Looking ahead to next month’s observance of Brain Injury Awareness Month, CSN has developed a new fact sheet: Non-Fatal Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Visits to the Emergency Department, U.S. Infants, Children, and Adolescents Ages 0 Through 19. A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a disturbance to one’s usual brain function, brought about by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or a penetrating head injury (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). It can lead to lifelong impairments, and in severe cases, it can cause death. Reference our new fact sheet to learn more, including facts, statistics, disparity data by sex and race/ethnicity, and prevention practices related to TBI.
Throughout this newsletter, you will find resources from our Children's Safety Now Alliance partners highlighted in purple.
Please widely share these resources with your networks.
Kindly,
Jennifer Leonardo, PhD
