Safe & Sound: Injury Prevention for Infants and Young Children

St. Louis, MO, 2000

KWMU-FM and St. Louis Children's Hospital launched a collaborative initiative, Safe & Sound—a series of radio programs, reports and activities designed to help parents and educators learn about injury prevention for infants and young children.

KWMU produced a five-part series of in-depth reports, four call-in programs and one half-hour special documentary. The station also promoted outreach activities and materials developed with St. Louis Children's Hospital (SLCH), which complemented key topics covered in on-air programming.

The project goal was to help educate the St. Louis community about injury prevention for infants and young children and to inform the public about a wide range of services and safety resources available in the greater St. Louis area.

Topics included car-seat safety, lead-poisoning prevention, toy safety and head-injury prevention/helmet use. Each topic featured an outreach activity and/or informational materials. The project was publicized through a variety of on-air, off-air and Web-based avenues.

Basic fact-finding revealed that SLCH operates one of the busiest pediatric emergency units in the country, and 23 percent of children who come to the SLCH emergency unit are there because of traumatic injury. St. Louis ranks among the 10 worst cities in the country for lead poisoning, with cases more than six times the national rate. An estimated 80 percent of car seats are not used properly, and in a highly automobile-dependent area this is a disturbing statistic. One in seven children suffer head injuries from bike accidents. A variety of related environmental and legislative concerns in the St. Louis area also surfaced.

KWMU and SLCH distributed informational materials and encouraged attendance at educational events about injury prevention, targeting both parents with children at increased risk of injury, and all parents of young children. St. Louis Children's Hospital continues to provide access to a wealth of resources and organizations including physicians, schools, child care providers, community service leaders, grass-roots organizations and parents.

Contact Information

KWMU-FM
Shelley Kerley, Development Director
Tel: 314-516-6176

St. Louis Children's Hospital
Nancy Litzinger, Director, Child and Family Advocacy
Tel: 314-286-0950