Children At Risk?

More years of productive life are lost to accidents that to heart disease and cancer combined. More children and young people die from accidental injury than any other cause. Little attention has been paid to the problem of child accidents or to the challenge of accident prevention. "Children at Risk?" fills this gap, using survey data and detailed interviews with parents and guardians to explore the causes, consequences and policy implications of child accidents in Britain. "Children at Risk?" focuses on key debates in accident research. Are accidents caused by environmental hazards or by risky behaviour? Should differences in risk be explained with reference to class or culture? Should strategies for accident prevention be based on professional opinion or local knowledge? By considering these questions, the authors accumulate sufficient evidence to make a range of practical suggestions on how parents, professionals and policymakers might best keep children safe. "Children at Risk?" combines a comprehensive literature review with rigorous empirical research. It should be of interest to students in social policy, public health and medical sociology, to health professionals and to other welfare practitioners and policymakers.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Introduction Child accidents in an urban community Monitoring risk The social costs of accidents Keeping children safe Conclusion References

About the Author :
The AuthorsHelen Roberts is a social scientist with a particular interest in the life chances and health of children. Her interest in children's accidents comes from the observation, made during the course of motherhood, that given the environments in which children grow up, it is a miracle that my of them make it adulthood. She works as Head of Childcare Research and Development for the children's charity, Barnardos. Her recent books include the edited collections Women's Health Counts and Women's Health Matters.Susan J Smith is Professor of Geography at the University of Edinburgh. Her research includes studies of the risks of victimization and fear of crime, of the implications of racism and gender inequality in the housing system, and of housing provision for people with health problems and disabilities. Her books include Crime, Space and Society, The Politics of Race and Residence, Housing and Social Policy and Housing for Health.Carol Bryce is currently working in development and evaluation for the Health Education Board for Scotland. She was previously a research fellow in the Public Health Research Unit, University of Glasgow, where the children's accident project was based. She is a geographer whose main interest are inequality and health. She has published on a variety of topics, including teacher recruitment, geographical health differences and children's accidents. Her current work focuses on nutrition, through which she has developed an interest in the sociology of food and eating.

Review :
"...a must for all professionals involved with parents andyoung children." - Health Visitor "...recommended reading for all those interested in broadening their approach to accident epidemiology." - Health Matters