If you give a child the opportunity to teach others about safety in their own words and images, you give them a way of reaching out in original and imaginative ways! With this in mind, CDC’s Injury Center is launching the Be Heads Up Poster Contest, which asks kids and teens (ages 5-18) to Draw, Paint, Create— Be Heads Up about concussion safety at school, home, or play!

By incorporating creativity and innovation, key concussion messages, a visual depiction of a positive message, and a quality image or design, these kids and teens can help educate their peers about how serious concussions are, how to recognize the symptoms of a brain injury, and what they can do if they think they have a concussion.

Submissions will be judged and a prize of $250 will be awarded to the winner in each age group.

Find out more about the Be Heads Up Poster Contest and start spreading the word about how children can get involved in preventing concussions!

We may feel compelled to check our phones whenever we hear our alert tones— and, maybe you have been able to do so without any negative consequences. But, how many times have we heard people involved in a crash say, “I just took my eyes off the road for a second”? It only takes a second of not paying attention to run over a young child, to crash into another car, or to hit a bicyclist who is turning in front of you.

Drivers in the United States who talk, text, or read emails significantly increase their chance of being involved in a crash. In fact, Americans ages 18­­–64 read or sent more texts or emails while driving than their European counterparts.

And every day, more than nine people die in crashes that involve a distracted driver.

As if texting and emailing weren’t enough, many U.S. drivers also succumb to other kinds of distractions while behind the wheel.  Eating while driving, adjusting the radio or using navigation technologies are also distractions. Anything we do while driving that gets in the way of us watching and seeing the road, handling the steering wheel, or focusing on driving should be avoided.

Understanding how easy it is to lose your focus on driving, if only for a moment,  is the first step in realizing how important it is to resist multitasking behind the wheel and to prevent distracted driving. Keep your hands on the wheel, your eyes on the road, and your mind on driving. Your life and that of others depend on it!

How do you avoid distractions while driving?

My grandmother lived with us when I was growing up, and I remember her being incredibly active in doing things around the house even as she approached her early 80s. This all changed one day when she slipped on a throw rug and fell, breaking her hip.  We called an ambulance and went with her to the emergency department, where she was admitted to the hospital and later had surgery.  Luckily, she did not have any complications from the surgery. Afterwards, she relied on a wheelchair to get around until she died 7 years later.  

People may take for granted how easy it is for them to move around when they know every step and corner of their home. But that is not the case for many older adults, whose declining balance, coordination or vision may put them at significant risk of falling. The risk of falling increases with each decade of life.  Injuries resulting from a fall, such as a hip fracture or head injury can affect an older adult’s health and take away their independence. Each year, one in every three adults age 65 or older falls, and more than 2 million are treated in emergency departments for injuries that result from falls.

The good news is that falls can be prevented, and over the last few decades, the CDC Injury Center has learned a lot about how to prevent falls in older adults. 

Getting regular exercise that focuses on improving balance and leg strength can decrease the risk of falling.  Some medicines, taken alone or combined with other medicines can increase the risk of falling.  Vision problems that sometimes increase with age also increase risk.  Having regular eye examinations and making sure that eyeglass prescriptions are correct are important.   Talking about this with a health care provider or pharmacist can help older adults understand and decrease these risks. 

Since about half of all falls happen at home, there are things that families, friends, and caregivers can do to help older adults reduce fall hazards in the home.

Here are 8 quick tips on how to help older adults reduce their chances of falling in their own homes.

1. Remove things they can trip over (like papers, books, clothes, and shoes) from stairs and places where they walk.
2. Install handrails on both sides of stairs (for inside and outside stairs).
3. Make sure that lighting in the home is good and allows someone to see any possible hazards.  It is very important to have good lighting at the top and bottom of stairs.
4. Put grab bars inside and next to the tub or shower and next to the toilet, if needed.
5. Use non-slip mats in the bathtub and on shower floors.
6. Remove small throw rugs or use double-sided tape to keep the rugs from slipping.
7. Put frequently used items in cabinets or on shelves that can be reached easily without using a step stool.
8. Encourage them to wear shoes both inside and outside the house and to avoid going barefoot or wearing socks or slippers around the house.

This month is Older American’s Month, where the community is asked to “Unleash the Power of Age” and keep older adults productive, active, and influential members of our society!

Sexual violence is defined as a sexual act committed or attempted by another person without freely given consent of the victim or against someone who is unable to consent or refuse. According to CDC research, in the United States:

• One in five women and one in 71 men have been raped in their lifetime.
• Most victims of rape knew their perpetrators.
• Nearly one in two women and one in five men have experienced other forms of sexual violence (such as unwanted touching, threats of sexual violence, verbal sexual harassment, etc.) at some point in their lives.

Statistics underestimate the extent of this public health problem since many victims do not tell the police, family, or friends about the violence. The numbers also do not reveal the entire story of physical, psychological, and social effects of sexual violence.

Knowing some of the factors that increase the risk that a person will commit sexual violence can help identify the opportunities for prevention.

What are Sexual Violence Risk Factors?

Risk factors are contributing factors and may or may not be direct causes of sexual violence. A combination of individual, relational, community, and societal factors can contribute to the risk of becoming sexually violent, but not everyone who is identified as “at risk” does so.

Getting Help

Sexual violence can have harmful, lasting consequences for victims, families, and communities. If you are or someone you know is a victim or is at risk for being sexually violent, get help by contacting:

• The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE for free, confidential help 24/7, or
• Local emergency services at 9-1-1.

But what does that mean for public health? Where do injuries and violence fit into the plan to help people be able to live their lives to the fullest potential?

This week the public health world comes together to commemorate National Public Health Week. The week is represented with daily themes that show how injury and violence topics fit into the key areas of public health, where we continue to work on saving and improving lives across the nation.

Ensuring a Safe, Healthy Home for Your Family:

• Falls – Older Adults: There are proven interventions that can reduce falls and help older adults live better.  These include exercise, reviewing medicines that can cause dizziness or drowsiness, having regular eye exams, and removing tripping hazards in the home.
• Protect the Ones You Love: Learn the steps parents and caregivers can take to prevent the leading causes of child injury.
• National Action Plan for Child Injury Prevention: This plan focuses on common goals and a national effort to reduce injuries to children in the United States.

Providing a Safe Environment for Children at School:

• Heads Up: We train youth and high school sports coaches, parents, athletes, and health care professionals around the country to prevent, recognize, and respond when a youth athlete has a concussion.  
• Playground Injuries: Children can play safely when the playground is designed to prevent injuries, when the children are properly supervised, and when children wear protective gear for certain activities such as bicycling or skateboarding.   

Creating a Healthy Workplace:

• Prevention injuries at work: The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which is part of CDC, works to prevent work-related injuries.  Information on preventing injuries at work is available on the NIOSH website at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/       

Protecting You While You’re on the Move:

• Motor Vehicle Safety: We focus on increasing the use of child safety seats, booster seats, and seat belts.  We work to reduce alcohol-impaired driving and to improve safe driving practices in teen drivers and older adult drivers. CDC also works to prevent injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists.
• Distracted Driving: Using a cell phone, texting/emailing, and eating are all major distractions that can increase the chance of a motor vehicle crash. Read more about the recent research study that compares the behaviors of drivers in the United States with seven European countries.

Empowering a Healthy Community:

• Core VIPP: We provide funding and technical assistance to states through our Core Violence and Injury Prevention Program (Core VIPP). The program strengthens the capacity of 20 state health departments to collect and use data for a better understanding of local injury issues and to protect their residents by putting science into action to save lives and prevent injuries.
• STRYVE: Through its interacting components, STRYVE (Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere) helps communities take a public health approach to preventing youth violence—stopping it before it starts.
• Go to the CDC Injury Center Funded Programs and Initiatives page to see how we work with national organizations, state health agencies, and other key groups to develop, implement, and promote effective injury and violence prevention and control practices.

Go to the National Public Health Week page for more information on the observance week, and what you can do to get involved.

Recovery from traumatic brain injury (TBI) doesn’t follow the same course for everyone. Doctors, nurses, physical or occupational therapists, and counselors are a few of the providers that may be available to help patients recover after their TBI. Even so, depending on the severity of their injury, TBI survivors—along with their caregivers and loved ones—may need to learn how to live with permanent effects of TBI.

TBI survivors, and their families and friends, have compelling stories to tell about how TBI has affected all of their lives.

Last year, the CDC Injury Center asked survivors, caregivers, and loved ones to share their TBI stories on video through the Heads Up Film Festival. There were even a few famous faces who told the stories of their recovery and life after a TBI.

Watch and share – Former Professional Snowboarder Kevin Pearce and Former BMX Rider TJ Lavin tell their stories about TBI:

During March, Brain Injury Awareness Month, tell us how a brain injury has affected your life or the life of someone that you love. You can share your story here in the comments, or on the CDC Heads Up – Brain Injury Awareness Facebook Page.

We call these Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and this infographic tells you the story of the dramatic links between ACEs, risky behavior and psychological issues. Safe, stable and nurturing relationships help prevent ACEs and ensure that children are able to live their lives to their fullest potential.

View the entire, interactive graphic on VetoViolence.org.

My mother was a teacher during the time when teachers made regular home visits. Growing up, I remember going with her on some of these visits, wondering about the different kinds of homes, behavior, and environments of some of my school peers.

Some kids in school bullied other kids, others showed up at school with injuries, and some did not show up at all. My mother, in her calm, steady way, would explain to me that families had different kinds of struggles and that kids’ behaviors reflected the kind of environments, relationships, and challenges they have in their life.

In the early 70s, right out of college, I began my career as a child protective services, foster care, and adoption case worker. I received calls in the middle of the night about runaways, worked with children who were emotionally abused and neglected, and met the police in emergency departments where children were being treated for broken bones, multiple bruises, malnourishment, marks from hot irons, head injuries from shaking, or sexual abuse. Some children did not survive the abuse in their own homes. Those cases left me feeling that we sometimes had too little to offer, and often much too late.

The perception of child maltreatment and what we know about the importance of safe, stable, nurturing relationships for children has definitely changed since I first started in this field more than 40 years ago.  Today, there are more open conversations and coverage in local and national news, multidisciplinary teams to review child deaths and to make prevention recommendations, and more knowledge about risk and protective factors and effective prevention strategies. We know so much more about the association between child maltreatment and health and well-being later in life through the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study and about early brain development.

Recognizing child maltreatment as a public health issue, the national leadership of the CDC  Injury Center, and a cadre of prevention partner organizations working together have been central to moving the prevention field forward.  And yet, thousands of children are still abused and neglected every year! That’s why I will keep doing what I do.

For the past seven years, I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to expanding a public health approach to prevention at the national level as an expert consultant on child maltreatment for the CDC Injury Center. The life-lessons that my mother taught me and the hard lessons I learned about inequities from the families I worked with continue to fuel my passion and vision for a world where all children grow up in safe, stable, and nurturing environments.

One of the most difficult things about working in the emergency department was making a phone call.  Not just any phone call, but a call at midnight, or 2 a.m., a call to a parent who might be waiting for his teenager to return home from an evening out with friends.  A call that would change a family forever.  A call that no one ever wants to make.  A call to say “I am calling about your son.  He has been in a car crash and is in the emergency department.  Can you come to the hospital? . . .  Is there someone who can come with you?”  It is the call that parents dread, and that we dreaded making.  And, it is a call that doesn’t have to happen.

In 2010, more than 2,200 families of teens ages 16-19 received a phone call, or were visited by police officers bearing tragic news.  On average, in 2010, 7 teens ages 16-19 died each day from injuries due to motor vehicle crashes; 48 teens per day were hospitalized and 770 teens per day were treated and released from emergency departments for injuries due to motor vehicle crashes. Parents can take action to reduce their chances of being awakened by the dreaded phone call.

You can keep your teen safe on the road using these 5 actions:

1. Give your teen rules and safe ways to practice their driving skills. 

Teens do learn by watching other drivers and by studying for their permit, but experience is the best teacher.  Crash risk is particularly high for teens during the first months of licensure.  Graduated drivers licensing (GDL) laws are designed to give teens more responsibility only as they gain more experience.  Learn about the GDL law in your state, and have your teen follow it. 

2. Set rules for the road with a parent-teen driving agreement. 

The most comprehensive GDL programs can reduce fatal crashes by roughly 20% to 40% among 16-year-old drivers. Your state’s GDL law will get you and your teen started, but you can fill in any gaps by creating a formal driving agreement with your teen.  At a minimum, the agreement should include the following:  

• Never drink and drive
• Never get in a car with a driver who has been drinking
• Wear a seat belt on every trip
• Limit nighttime driving
• Limit the number of teen passengers
• Never use a cell phone or text while driving
• Obey speed limits

3. Make sure your teen has a safe way to get home.

In 2011, almost a million high school teens drank alcohol and then got behind the wheel.  And 1 in 5 teen drivers who were involved in fatal crashes in 2010 had been drinking. One way to keep your teen safe is to tell them that they can call you for a safe ride home. 

4. Model safe driving.

Our children learn from us – and that includes driving. Long before they are old enough to drive, children watch their parents to learn what is acceptable to do while driving.  Parents can lead by example, by wearing their seat belts, obeying speed limits, not drinking and driving, and not using a cell phone or texting while driving.

5. Keep learning about how to keep your teen safe on the road.

CDC’s Injury Center studies motor vehicle crashes to find the best ways to prevent them.  We put this science into action in many ways – one is by sharing what we learn. 

This week, CDC is hosting a Facebook Chat on the Parents Are the Key Facebook page.  You can join this chat October 19 from 10:00-11:00am ET to discuss ways parents can encourage safe driving.  Topics that will be discussed include beginning the safe driving conversation with your teen, what works to prevent teen driving crashes, and what steps you can take to keep your teen safe.

This spring, after several of my close friends and family reached out to share the news that Mike Wallace, the legendary investigative journalist and “60 Minutes” anchor, had died, I sat down and had a good cry. It was as if I had lost a favorite uncle.

I know that it probably sounds strange that I was so personally affected by the passing of a famous newsman whose life was seemingly very different and removed from mine, but the fact is that Mike Wallace played a significant role in my decision to do what I do at CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention (DVP).

Let me try to explain. In 1996, after purposefully stopping the medication that I knew had helped me, I was in the middle of my third—and thankfully last—major struggle with severe and debilitating depression. I had gone to spend the day at my parents’ house where I could basically hide out and not have to keep up the façade of being “OK.”

From my cocoon of misery on their sofa, I heard the phone ring, mom answered, said something typically Southern to the caller like, “Well bless your heart!” and then, “Helen, Mike Wallace is on the phone for you.” Those words turned out to be a lifeline and one of the best gifts I have ever been given.

It seems that my mother had seen Mr. Wallace speaking out about his recovery from depression on TV and had written a letter to him describing my struggle. We had both experienced the desolation and sheer terror of living with major depression. The connection  was strong enough to move Mr. Wallace to pick up his phone in Manhattan and reach out to this young woman in Commerce, Georgia whom he had never met.

I will never forget that when I answered he said, “Helen, this is Mike Wallace. Your mother wrote and told me what you are going through. I have been there myself, and it is hell. Now, why won’t you take your medication?” I said that I hated the idea that I was “damaged goods” who had to take medicine every day just to be “normal.” He acknowledged his own deep sense of shame and helplessness in the throes of depression.  He went on to explain that he had always been someone who refused to even take an aspirin for a headache, but that he would be taking his antidepressant every day for the rest of his life and be grateful that the treatment existed.

Comparing notes on shame and helplessness with Mike Wallace was an almost surreal experience on one hand. On the other hand, it was a very human and comforting connection that really did change my life.

That gets me back to why I do what I do at DVP. There is so much pain in the world—pain from disease, violence, social inequalities and injustices, and there are no quick fixes or easy answers. We all have to work hard and continuously to create and maintain the conditions that make hope and security—even in the face of adversity—a real possibility for everyone.   

I am health scientist at DVP because it allows me the opportunity to do some of that work. At DVP, we have strong research that shows that building connectedness—at the individual, family, community, and societal level, and encouraging safe, secure, nurturing relationships is protective against violence—suicide and child maltreatment particularly. Regular social contact, strong family attachments, involvement in community activities, access to services, and communication among helping organizations are most important.

On an individual level, it is exactly these types of connections and relationships that led to that phone call from Mike Wallace that gave me back my life. (He actually called me back about six months later to check on me and see how I was doing—amazing!)

The work of DVP is not easy—attempting to understand patterns of violence, risk and protection against such patterns, developing and testing prevention programs, and building bridges between research and practice can be daunting and, frankly, sometimes feels esoteric and quite removed from the impact that we are all so eager to see. However, it is my lived experience that there is real power in the connections we are trying to develop. If we can encourage and sustain these connections at the population level, I believe we really do have a chance to prevent violence and suffering.