Report
to/Rapport au :
Ottawa Board of Health
Conseil de santé d’Ottawa
Monday, May 7, 2012/lundi le 7 mai, 2012
Submitted by/Soumis par :
Dr./Dr Isra Levy,
Medical Officer of Health/Médecin
chef en santé publique
Contact Person/Personne-ressource :
Sherry Nigro,
Manager/Gestionnaire
Health Promotion and Disease
Prevention/Promotion de la santé et prévention des maladies
Ottawa
Public Health/Santé publique Ottawa
613-580-2424, ext./poste 28971, sherry.nigro@ottawa.ca
ACS2012-OPH-HPDP-0004 |
SUBJECT: |
OBJET : |
MISE À JOUR DE LA
STRATÉGIE DE PRÉVENTION DES BLESSURES À LA TÊTE |
That the Board of Health for the City of
Ottawa Health Unit:
1. Receive this
report for information; and
2. That the Chair
of the Board of Health forward this report to the chair of Community &
Protective Services Committee for information
Que le Conseil de
santé de la circonscription sanitaire de la ville d’Ottawa :
1.
prenne connaissance du présent rapport à titre
d’information.
2.
la présidente du Conseil de santé transmet ce rapport
au président du Comité des services communautaires et de protection aux fins
d’information.
Background
The Community and
Protective Services Committee on April 1, 2010 approved a comprehensive strategy to develop
community-based interventions that raise awareness and promote helmet use among
children and youth (ACS2010-COS-OPH-0001).
Ottawa Public Health (OPH) continues to implement the strategy, in partnership
with Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services (PRCS) and community stakeholders.
The strategy includes:
a. Enhanced
helmet promotion interventions across public health and recreation programming;
b. Community
partnerships to make helmets more accessible to low-income families;
c. A
youth engagement strategy
d. Engagement
of community skating rink operators in the promotion of helmet use; and
e. Monitoring
rates of youth helmet use over time to gauge effectiveness of the youth
engagement strategy
OPH was directed to report on the results and progress of the youth
engagement strategy one year after its full implementation.
DISCUSSION
Mandatory Helmet Use Policy
PRCS implemented a helmet use policy, (on January 1, 2012) that
requires all users aged 10 and under, as well as weak or non-skaters of any age,
to wear a certified multi-impact helmet during all public skating sessions at city
of Ottawa indoor arenas.
OPH and PRCS promoted
the new policy through rink board signage, posters at indoor arenas, signage at
outdoor rinks and bus shelter advertising. In addition, indoor arena staff were
provided with educational material to help respond to public enquiries or
concerns. OPH and PRCS also promoted helmet use on the city’s ten major
toboggan hills.
Attendance at public
skating sessions was not affected by the policy implementation. More
people attended public skating or shinny hockey at City of Ottawa indoor arenas
in 2012 than in 2011. Among children, preschoolers and toddlers combined (under
the age of 12 and therefore affected by the new policy), attendance increased
from 9,347 in 2011 (January through March) to 10,915 in the same time period in
2012.
To ensure
helmets were accessible to all Ottawa residents, PRCS developed a partnership
with Reebok to provide a $10 discount on CCM hockey helmets. According to Reebok/CCM, an estimated 1,000 helmets
were sold.
Although outdoor
rinks are not included in the mandatory helmet policy, the risk of injury is
still present. OPH partnered with PRCS to work with outdoor rink operators who
are volunteers within the community that maintain their neighbourhood outdoor
rink. OPH invited rink operators to promote helmet usage by posting helmet
signage at the outdoor rinks, role modelling by wearing helmets themselves and
encouraging parents to wear helmets. Anecdotal feedback from rink operators,
gathered at a post-season event, was very positive.
Youth Engagement
OPH utilized social media and the new helmet policy as opportunities to
engage youth on helmet use.
OPH launched a
Facebook “Like My Helmet” competition in fall 2011, in which youth were
encouraged to post pictures of themselves in their helmet. Internet analytical
reports revealed that over 1,600 youth were exposed to the contest, through
Facebook ads, participants sharing their interactions on Facebook, and University
of Ottawa promoting OPH’s Facebook page.
In addition, OPH, in partnership with PRCS at indoor arenas and the Rink of Dreams, and the National Capital Commission (NCC) on the Rideau Canal during Winterlude, launched “Get Caught Wearing a Helmet” campaign, which focused on helmet use while ice skating. The campaign was well received by PRCS who saw it as an opportunity to support the helmet policy for children aged 10 and under. Almost 300 youth were “caught” wearing a helmet and an additional 200 interacted with staff about the benefits of helmet use while ice skating. In addition, web promotion and signage at the Rink of Dreams strongly encouraged helmet use which was reinforced by supervisory staff on site.
Finally, OPH
developed videos promoting youth to wear a helmet. The videos, Make it a
Habit and Helmets are Always in Fashion, which were focus tested and
approved by youth, are available online and are currently being shared with
stakeholders to increase distribution. A partnership database is currently
being established to help with the promotion of the next phase of the youth
engagement strategy.
For
over nine years, the NCC and OPH have collaborated to provide the Helmet
Information & Fitting Tents at Alcatel-Lucent Sunday Bikedays and
Winterlude Skate Safe. The above two community base helmet programs have expanded
its initial reach of approximately 300 cyclists, in-line skaters and
ice-skaters to their current reach of 4,500.
This expanded reach is a result of an increase in community partnerships
and the addition of interactive activities.
Building on the partnership with NCC, OPH used the helmet
fitting event at Alcatel-Lucent Sunday Bikedays as the backdrop to hold the
first Canadian municipal “Helmet Day” proclamation on June 5, 2011. OPH
was the pioneer behind the event with support from Think First Ottawa, the NCC
and Mayor Jim Watson.
In addition, OPH, in partnership with Think First and Reebok/CCM,
developed promotional resources including a helmet brochure and a low-literacy
pamphlet (available in Arabic, Somali and Chinese), which includes instructions
and illustrations for bicycle and hockey helmet fitting illustrations. Last
year, PRCS and OPH disseminated resources to approximately 11,000 parents,
children and youth in schools and community events. OPH has also
promoted head injury prevention messages through community newspapers, Capital Parent magazine and established
social media networks.
The sponsorship with Reebok/CCM significantly contributed to increasing
access to affordable hockey helmets in support of the PRCS policy. There is
opportunity to continue this agreement during the next skating season.
PRCS have continued to enhance programs that provide children with free
equipment including helmets. The 2012 “I
Love to Skate” program provided 400 children and 30 youth with free skates,
helmets and skating lessons with funding from Canadian Tire Jumpstart and the
Sens Foundation. PRCS have also piloted a similar program, “I Love to Play Shinny
Hockey” that provided 50 youth with free hockey equipment including a
helmet. PRCS will also be piloting a summer program “I Love to Bike” that will provide free helmets, bikes, bells,
locks and lessons. OPH assist PRCS in
these programs by helping to identify the children who could best benefit from
these recreational programs.
OPH will continue to work with community organizations and local
retailers to explore opportunities for additional helmet provisions. Currently,
OPH is exploring new partnership opportunities with businesses and community
organizations involved in sales, rental or donation of helmets.
Monitoring Helmet Use
An observational study and survey was conducted to collect baseline data
on helmet use among children and youth at 10 indoor city arenas and at eight
city approved sledding hills.
OPH is now conducting seasonal helmet monitoring. This winter, OPH, PRCS
and Think First Ottawa pooled efforts to collect data on helmet use on the
Rideau Canal and at City of Ottawa indoor public skating sessions. Staff and
volunteers utilized a standard observation tool to track the estimated number
of people skating with or without a helmet. A report will be available in May
2013.
Next Steps
Plans are being implemented for the spring/fall and winter 2012 seasons.
New opportunities and partnerships are helping generate creative ideas to
advance the issue of head injury prevention.
OPH staff will enhance youth engagement through several initiatives:
·
Launch the “Adopt
a Helmet” social media campaign that includes a video and blog promoting helmet
use
·
Work with helmet
retailers to distribute key messages about helmet use and physical activity.
·
Participate in
the Mayor’s Youth Summit to promote the “Adopt a Helmet” campaign.
OPH and PRCS will continue to enhance brain injury
prevention efforts by:
·
Enhancing
partnerships to carry out monitoring of youth helmet use and compare seasonal
data on an annual basis.
·
Measuring the
readiness of the general public, especially youth, to wear a helmet following
OPH and PRCS interventions.
·
Increase access
to CAN-Bike program for children through community organizations in priority
neighbourhoods.
·
Focus integration efforts to profile
helmet safety in Safer Roads Ottawa activities as well as in active
transportation promotions that are occurring over several City departments.
·
Continue to support
programs that increase access to helmets for children, i.e., I Love to Bike and
I Love to Skate.
·
Partner with
Vélo Fest organizer to promote “Helmet Day” – OPH is mobilizing retailers to
offer significant discounts on helmets and PRCS is promoting the CAN-Bike
program.
·
Plan new
initiatives with outdoor rink operators for the 2012-2013 season.
·
Engage NCC to
expand distribution helmet use signage at toboggan hills.
·
Explore
partnership opportunities with Ottawa Paramedic Services.
Community partnerships were
ignited through a community helmet consultation process ever held in Ottawa in
November 2010. Thirty eight stakeholders and local youth responded to our call to
join efforts to address the incidence of child and youth head injuries.
National associations, hospitals, university programs, community based
organizations, school boards and multicultural groups generated recommendations
after identifying current helmet promotion practices and gaps.
Positive ripple effects following the consultations have been reported
to OPH staff. For example, the Ottawa Hospital has since enhanced their
P.A.R.T.Y. program to include helmet activities that resonate with youth.
Young participants are sensitized to the seriousness of head injuries and how they
can occur during mundane daily activities such as riding a bicycle.
OPH also forged a
relationship with the Director of the Neurotrauma Impact Lab at the University
of Ottawa. Dr. Hoshizaki has provided consultation services on community
inquiries and insight into the helmet manufacturing sector.
This report will be shared
with partners such as Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services and Think First.
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no legal impediments to receiving the
information in this report.
FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
There are no financial implications to this report.
TECHNICAL IMPLICATIONS
There are no technology implications associated with
this report.
Ottawa Public Health will continue to consult with all relevant City
Department, including Legal Counsel in the City Clerk and Solicitor Department,
with respect to all head injury prevention and helmet safety promotion
activities, initiatives, programs and strategies.