Ruth Beer

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Ruth Beer

Ruth Beer (PhD) startet as a scientific operator at (Beratungsstelle für Unfallverhütung BFU), The Swiss council for accident prevention in 2018. She has project responsabilities in services (communication campaigns, courses etc.) around child accident prevention.
OUUPS! a national Campaign for Child-Injury-Prevention in Switzerland
5 October 2023 14:00 - 14:45
Room A

Introduction:
Switzerland is a rather small country in the middle of Europe (Continent) with approx. 8 million inhabitants. Demography and overall incident rates are comparable to those in Germany and Austria. The Swiss Council for Accident Prevention, BFU, has a legal mandate to prevent non-occupational accidents and to coordinate prevention measures nationwide in Switzerland. Hence, in the seventies already, the BFU set up a national information and sensibilisation campaign for parents. The former “Kinderpost” is now “OUUPS!” which represents one of the Flagships of the BFU.

Objectives:
Swiss Children and adolescents (0 to 16 years) suffer constant rates of incidents. The highest accident risk occurs in home and leisure. On average 10% are injured by home and leisure accidents per year, which of 14 die, as a result (Ø 2014-2018). Most accidents origins are falls, suffocation/aspiration, drowning, and transportation. Although there is no dominant incident cause, the most significant accident origins differ for age groups from babies to adolescents.

Results:
Although, there is no significant accident origin, information and sensiblisation of young parents seems crucial for child accident prevention. In the seventies already the BFU set up an information campaign, the Kinderpost. OUUPS!, the new, modernised campaign was launched in 2020. Parents receive a brochure every six months with tips on accident prevention for their child. Little text, lots of pictures in print and online, and an accompanying give-away in some editions form the DNA of this information-sensibilisation-campaign.

Conclusion:
Although no evaluation on a large scale has been made so far, a small customer survey has shown that parents are happy to receive these brochures. Subscriptions are hardly ever cancelled.

Keywords: child safety campaign, child-incident-rates, home and leisure incidents, OUUPS!

Other info:  BFU, Swiss Council for Accident Prevention, School and Family Department, Berne, Switzerland - Bern - Berne - SwitzerlandMirjam Bächli, scientific operator