Injury Prevention Training for Nova Scotians

Nova Scotia is taking another step in its efforts to prevent injury. Twenty-five injury prevention professionals are participating in the Canadian Injury Prevention and Control Curriculum beginning today, June 9 -- the same day the curriculum is being launched nationally.

"Injury prevention is an important element of health promotion and we're actively addressing it through initiatives like this curriculum," said Health Promotion Minister Rodney MacDonald. "Our injury prevention strategy, coupled with the dedication of the professionals taking this curriculum, is bringing us closer to a healthy province that's injury free."

Injuries are the leading cause of death for Canadians aged one to 44, killing 450 Nova Scotians each year. The curriculum focuses on the study of injury; principles of injury control; basic injury data systems; applied research and planning methods; and methods of program development, implementation and evaluation.

Development of the curriculum was funded by Health Canada's Population Health Fund. It was designed by the Canadian Collaborative Centres for Injury Prevention and Control. Child Safety Link represented the Maritimes throughout the development of the curriculum and partnered with the Office of Health Promotion to deliver it in Nova Scotia. Child Safety Link is a Maritime-wide child injury prevention program based at the IWK Health Centre.

The three-day course will be offered in four other locations throughout the province this year, training more than 100 people. It will help establish a common language and understanding of injury prevention among all areas of injury prevention across Nova Scotia and throughout the country, improving the ability to work together to address this epidemic. Participants will be better equipped with the knowledge to develop injury prevention programming specific to their community's need.

"This new curriculum is a valuable resource to Nova Scotia's injury prevention practitioners because it's developed for Canadians, using Canadian content and data -- the first curriculum to do so," said Julian Young, co-ordinator of injury prevention and control with the Office of Health Promotion. "By enhancing the skills of Nova Scotia's injury prevention practitioners, we can be more effective and strategic in our prevention efforts."

Nova Scotia is the only province with a provincially funded and endorsed Injury Prevention Strategy, with a $350,000 investment this year. Preventing falls, motor vehicle crashes and self- inflicted injury are the strategy's three priority areas.

For more information on the curriculum see the website at www.canadianinjurycurriculum.ca . The Injury Prevention Strategy is on the Health Promotion website at www.gov.ns.ca/ohp/injuryprevention.html .