Is your home safe?

I came across this video and thought it was very easy to understand and informative. Take a look…

Many Americans do not think about making their homes safer because they are unaware of potential problems that exist within the home. Statistics about home injuries are hard to compile and often incomplete, but a report conducted by The Home Safety Council looked at the prevalence of unintentional injuries in the home as well as what causes them.

This report found common problems in the home that lead to injuries which included:

• Inadequate railings and banisters.
• Unsafe storage of medications and other poisons.
• Water heaters set at too high a temperature.
• Firearms improperly stored or locked up.

After proper action to safe-guard the home, home-safety inspections are suggested to be conducted once a year. Inspections are to  emphasize the importance of safety, rather than convenience.

I learned a lot from my research of safe-guarding the home. It is really all about prevention and becoming educated about what to do in order to make your home safe.

Protecting Grandparents

This is my grandma

My grandmother celebrated her 86th birthday last month. I enjoy talking to her and listening to how her day went. She is very happy and enjoying life, but she suffers from arthritis in her right knee which makes everyday life difficult at times.

My grandmother dislikes climbing the front porch stairs when coming home from grocery shopping and groans when she has to climb in and out of the shower. She has fallen off her bed twice from misjudging the distance to the floor when getting out of bed, and is scared of anything left on the floor, in fear that she will trip and fall. Examples like these cross the mind of most elderly people each day.

Preventing injuries among the elderly is very important and necessary steps can be taken to safeguard the  home from potential dangers. The following CBS news clip video explains the importance of protecting grandparents from potential unintentional injuries.

After watching the video, I came to understand better the feelings that come with getting older. The lady in the video described her feelings when she suffered a fall. She felt frightened, unexpected, and didn’t know that she was about to fall.

Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths. Falls greatly impact older adults and interfere with their quality of life. Those who have suffered from a fall experience a whole range of injuries, from a bruise to a head or hip fracture. 75% of those who experience falls never get back to feeling normal again and suffer from life-long consequences. Falls can also interfere with older adults being able to live independently, but with proper preventative measures implemented especially within the home, falls can be prevented.

Ideas for prevention:

• Improve lighting in darkened areas
• Make sure floors are not slippery, use of throw rugs
• Raise toilet seat
• Have handles to grab
• Night-lights in hallways, bathrooms and near stairs
• Keep cords and telephone lines neat and organized

“There’s Never a Safe Time”

I am currently taking a Social Marketing class and we are in charge of developing a health campaign to help BYU students adapt, modify or eliminate a certain health behavior. We were assigned to focus on the rising problem of texting while driving. Motor Vehicle accidents are the #1 cause of unintentional injuries and texting while driving is becoming more and more common to do.

Through our research of texting while driving and conducting a focus group consisting of BYU students, we are finding that more and more students are aware of the dangers of texting while driving, but still participate in such behavior.

Video

Our campaign is focusing on spreading the word to students that “There’s Never a Safe Time” to text when driving.

The Utah State legislature passed a law banning the use of text messaging/emailing while operating a vehicle in movement.  Consequences equal to that of drunk driving, make it the strictest law of its kind in the nation. A violator can receive a minimum of $750 in fines and 90 days in jail, or more severely the maximum of $10,000 in fines and 15 years in jail. President Obama has signed an Executive Order banning 4.5 million employees from texting while driving. Educating family members, friends and peers about this law, and the dangers of texting while driving can save their life and the lives they share the road with.

Below is an example of our PR work concerning “There’s Never a Safe Time” campaign.