The challenge of compiling data profiles to stimulate local preventive health action: a European case study from child safety.
OBJECTIVE
Positive recent experience of presenting comparative child safety data at national level has instigated policy action in Europe. It was hoped a Child Safety Index could quantify how safe a community, region or locality is for its children in comparison with similar areas within Europe, as a focus for local targeted action.


METHODS
Validated indicators proposed by previous European projects identified from areas of child injury prevention, such as road safety, burns or poisoning, were selected to give a balanced profile, and populated from available published data. An index using a sub-score for each specific injury topic was proposed. The indicators' presentation, sensitivity and appropriateness were considered, as well as data availability.


RESULTS
Satisfactory indicators were not identified for all areas and very few local area data were available. This forced the researchers to conclude that at present, constructing a reliable Child Safety Index for use at the local level is not feasible.


CONCLUSIONS
There is a worrying lack of data available at the sub-national level to support injury prevention, evaluate interventions, and enable informed local decision making.
Department of International Health, School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands, denise.alexander@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
Denise
D
Alexander
Michael
M
Rigby
Mika
M
Gissler
Lennart
L
Köhler
Morag
M
MacKay
D000056:Accident Prevention / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005060:Europe; D014943:Global Health; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012449:Safety; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*