Incidence of domestic accidents in children has diminished

Parents have become more aware of the risks faced by children under 5 and as a result the number of domestic accidents has dropped. These are the main achievements highlighted by the partners of the national communication campaign “A Danger-Free Home for Your Child”, Info-Prim Neo reports. The first phase of the campaign was launched in August 2009. Until this moment, about 140,000 families have been informed about the potential dangers for their children. While in 2009 only 55% of the parents realized that their children can suffer an accident at home, in 2010 the figure rose to 63%, meaning that one more parent in ten became aware of these risks, said Raluca Teodoreanu, communication expert with the Center for Health Policies and Services, at a news conference on Friday. Compared with last year, the number of accidents suffered by children diminished by 68 cases and the number of ensuing deaths by 4 cases. Eight in ten parents responded in a poll that they started to lock the medications up, cover the wells and hide dangerous objects. The methods of the information campaign included visits paid by family doctors, meetings with parents at kindergartens, various contests, media efforts, and others, said Natalia Dinu, communication consultant at the Ministry of Health. The costs of the campaign are $63,000, including $20,000 for purchases of equipment at the Burns Center for Children and the Mother&Child Institute's Surgery Department, which are national establishments that provide medical care in serious pediatric cases. In 2008 more than a half of the lethal accidents among under-fives occurred at home. The campaign will continue aiming to increase the level of knowledge and improve behaviors in environments with children. The national communication campaign “A Danger-Free Home for Your Child” is implemented within the REPEMOL Project – {Regionalization of the Paediatric Emergency and Intensive Care Services} – by the Center for Health Policies and Services together with the Ministry of Health and co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Ministry. A mobile operator also sponsored the campaign.