Publications
Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit Monash University Accident Research Centre: Service Standards & Guidelines
From January 2005, responsibility for funding the Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit (VISU) shifted from VicHealth to DHS. The Unit is located at the Monash University Accident Research Centre.
Keep Me Safe Cards
The Keep Me Safe Cards are a pictorial based child safety resource, produced by the City of Ballarat, for service providers working with parents with an intellectually disability.
Safety - It's Child's Play, Facilitator's Manual
The Safety - it's child's play facilitator's manual, produced by the City of Ballarat, is a guide to running a child safety course for parents and carers of young children.
Remove the Risk - Child Poisoning Prevention Campaign
The brochure "Is your home poison proof?" provides information to help parents poison-proof their homes.
Investigating the over-representation of older persons in Do-It-Yourself home maintenance injury and barriers to prevention
This report represents the findings from the first Australian study to investigate why older persons undertake high-risk DIY maintenance activities, to determine what would constitute a low-risk alternative and to determine whether these alternatives are feasible and acceptable.
Investigating the over-representation of older persons in Do-It-Yourself home maintenance injury and barriers to prevention (PDF File - 1.3 mb)Barriers to child poisoning prevention: Why does child resistant packaging fail?
Although significant gains were made in childhood poisoning prevention in Australia and other countries mainly due to the introduction of child resistant packaging in the 1970s and 1980s, poisoning remains the second most common cause of injury hospitalisations for children aged 0-4 years and the rate is increasing in Victoria. Barriers to child poisoning prevention: Why does child resistant packaging fail? (PDF File - 1.0 mb)Gear up: Motivation and barriers to the wearing of personal protective equipment by Youth skaters in Council skateparks
This research project aimed to investigate the knowledge of youth skaters aged 10-17 years about the risk of injury in skateboarding and in-line skating and the protective effect of recommended PPE (safety gear), the behaviours and attitudes of youth skaters related to the wearing of PPE whilst skating and identify the motivators and barriers to the wearing of items of PPE by young skaters including the personal, socio-cultural and economic factors influencing their use or non-use. Gear up: Motivation and barriers to the wearing of personal protective equipment by Youth skaters in Council skateparks (PDF File - 911.3 kb)Doesn't everyone have poison in the kitchen cupboard?
This DHS-funded project aimed to identify the protective and/or risk factors for child unintentional poisoning in the home environment of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities identified as being under-represented in emergency department presentations for poisoning. Doesn't everyone have poison in the kitchen cupboard? (PDF File - 644.4 kb)Unintentional Drowning: Toddlers in dams - Child Safe Play Area Program Final Report, August 2005
The aim of the project was to produce an integrated strategy to achieve a measurable increase in the number of safe play areas, taking account the recommendations of the "Unintentional Drowning: Toddler in Dams in Victoria 1989-2001" report. Unintentional Drowning: Toddlers in dams - Child Safe Play Area Program Final Report, August 2005 (PDF File - 492.8 kb)Safe Smart Homes Booklet
The Safe Smart Homes Booklet was developed by the City of Greater Dandenong, under the State Government child injury prevention initiative "SafeStart". The booklet provides a few simple, cost effective tips that householders can take to improve safety in their homes in relation to some common child injury hazards.The Safe Smart Homes Booklet is available from the City of Greater Dandenong website.
Drowning of 0-5 Year Old Children in Private Swimming Pools & Spas in Victoria 1997-2001
This report presents the findings of an investigation into drowning deaths of young children in private swimming pools and spas in Victorian between 1997 and 2001. Part 1 - Introduction (PDF File - 1017.5 kb) Part 2 - Method and Results (PDF File - 119.6 kb) Part 3 - Discussion (PDF File - 38.2 kb) Appendices (PDF File - 3.1 mb)Drowning of 0-5 Year Old Children in Bathtubs in Victoria 1989-2001
This report presents the findings of an investigation into drowning deaths of 0-5 year old children in bathtubs in Victoria between 1989 and 2001. Part 1 - Introduction (PDF File - 1021.8 kb) Part 2 - Method and Results (PDF File - 141.5 kb) Part 3 - Discussion (PDF File - 56.8 kb) Appendices (PDF File - 1.8 mb) Unintentional Drowning: Toddlers in Dams in Victoria 1989-2001 (PDF File - 2.4 mb)This report is the first of a number of reports on this area and presents the findings of an investigation into the drowning deaths of toddlers (0-5 years) in dams in Victoria.
Drowning Deaths at Public Swimming Pools Victoria - July 1988 - June 2002 (PDF File - 2.7 mb)This report was compiled in conjunction with the Royal Life Saving Society Australia (RLSSA), Victoria Branch in response to the drowning death of a 14 year old child at Coburg Memorial Swimming Pool in December 1998.
Recreational Vessel Fatalities in Victoria 1999 - 2002 (PDF File - 577.6 kb)The purpose of the current study was to investigate fatal recreational vessel incidents in Victorian waters between January 1999 and December 2002.
Commercial Vessel Fatalities in Victoria 1991-2001 (PDF File - 1.6 mb)The aim of the current study was to identify fatal incidents on commercial vessels in Victoria, Australia between 1991 and 2001.
Fatal Falls of Children: Victoria 1989-2002
This report presents the findings of an examination of deaths of children aged 14 years and under that resulted from a fall in Victoria between 1989 and 2002. Part 1 - Introduction (PDF File - 979.2 kb) Part 2 - Method and Results (PDF File - 93.8 kb) Part 3 - Discussion (PDF File - 43.5 kb) Appendices - part 1 (PDF File - 2.2 mb) Appendices - part 2 (PDF File - 3.9 mb) Farm-Related Fatalities in Victoria July 2000 - June 2003 (PDF File - 1.4 mb)This report presents the findings of an investigation into farm-related fatalities in Victoria between 1 July 2000 and 30 June 2003.
Fire, Contact Burn and Scald Injury Fatalities among Children (0-9 years) and Seniors (70+ years) in Victoria, 2000-2003 (PDF File - 1.1 mb)This report presents the findings of an examination of fatal injury resulting from a fire, contact burns and scalds in children (aged 0-9 years) and seniors (aged 70+ years) in Victoria over the four-year period 2000 to 2003.
Non-Intentional Death from Poisoning in Children Victoria 1988 - 2000 (PDF File - 986.8 kb)Deaths from non-intentional poisoning in children (0-14 years of age) are rare in Victoria.
Modelling emergency demand for injury conditions study (PDF File - 644.6 kb)A small area analysis into preventable injury hospitalisations and opportunities for targeted interventions in hospitalisations for child poisoning and fractured neck of femur (hip fracture) injuries in older persons due to falls. - June 2002
Report on the Victorian Scalds Prevention Campaign - Hot Water Burns Like Fire (PDF File - 178.9 kb)Victoria's scalds prevention campaign, Hot Water Burns Like Fire, was launched in June 1995 as part of the state wide injury prevention strategy, Taking Injury Prevention Forward. The report of the scalds prevention campaign provides information on:
- the rationale, including context and background
- goals, objectives and strategies
- impact of strategies to date
- unintended effects of the campaign (manufacturing industry)
- conclusions and recommendations.
Fostering the delivery of safe physical activity environments - The role of risk management plans
The overall aim of the research presented in this report was to explore the extent to which physical activity environments/settings facilitate and promote injury prevention activities. There has been recognition that the adoption of risk management plans in such settings currently offers the best buy for injury prevention (National Injury Prevention Advisory Council 1999). Fostering the delivery of safe physical activity environments - The role of risk management plans (PDF File - 505.6 kb)Child unintentional poisoning interventions - Improving the uptake of safety practices: final report
The aim of the project was to identify the motivators and barriers to compliance with child poisoning safety practices by conducting a literature review, consulting with key informants and stakeholders, and conducting interviews and focus group discussions with parents of children under five years old, some of whom had experienced a poisoning incident. The final stage of the research was an applied phase designed to pilot test an innovative community intervention arising from the findings. Child unintentional poisoning interventions - Improving the uptake of safety practices: final report (PDF File - 448.3 kb)