Reading- Volume 2, pages 1-89

Prevention of Injuries in the Home and Home Wiring Hazards

Read pages 4-37 in Volume 2 of your course materials.  These two important documents highlight the areas of the home that need to be checked for potential hazards.  I am not trying to make the reader an electrician or carpenter, but the information does provide good suggestions for making the home a safer environment.  As you review this material, you might want to start working on your home safety inspection assignment.  Another good resource (besides the course materials) is the Home Safety Council's Resource Center.  They have a lot of good checklists that you can use.

Underwriter's Laboratories Inc home safety inspection checklist

Home Safety Test

Start out by taking the home safety test.  This is a “just for fun” or “what I know [or don’t know]” test (you have to do it and submit it to your instructor).  Send your responses to safety@siu.edu .

The State of Home Safety in America™ Report

The Home Safety Council, along with researchers from the Injury Prevention Research Center , recently revealed its 2004 State of Home Safety in America report. This second-of-its-kind study (the first one was in 2002) evaluates existing unintentional home injury data and examines what people are doing to prevent the millions of injuries and thousands of deaths that occur in the home each year. The Home Safety Council will use this report as a benchmark for examining future trends in home injury prevention and practices.   Read the components of this report and report back to the instructor 3 major findings (this is a required assignment - 10 points).

Home Electrical Safety

Visit the Electrical Safety Foundation International web site, view their home safety section, and complete all of the links that they have, including the:

·Home safety FAQ

    Statistics
    8 Ways to Protect Your Family from Electrical Hazards

    Indoor Electrical Safety Checklist
    Outdoor Electrical Safety Checklist

    Spring Electrical Safety Tips

    Summer Electrical Safety Tips

    Fall Electrical Safety Tips

    Winter Electrical Safety Tips
    Home Electrical Systems
    Circuit Breakers and Fuses
    AFCIs
    GFCIs

    GFCI Demonstration
    Plugs
    Extension Cords, Power Cords and Power Strips
    Electrical Appliances
    Electrical Safety for Kids and Pets

   Mr. Plug

Write a one page summary of what you learned from this review and send to safety@siu.edu .

Falls and Hip Fractures Among Older Adults

In the United States , one of every three adults 65 years old or older falls each year.  Review this article from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and get the complete details about this important injury topic.  Also read the following course materials and Web site:

Falls and the Elderly: An assessment and recommendations for reducing injuries (National Safety Council, 1997), pages 44-49.

Injuries to elderly women in the home environment: A research review (IEJHE, 2001), pages 49A.

The elderly woman and osteoporosis (IEJHE, 2001), pages 49B.

When slips get serious: The basics on fall-proofing your home (Family Safety, 2001), pages 49C.

Safe Steps to Reduce Falls

Liberty Mutual Home Safety Quiz - Take Liberty Mutual Home Safety Quiz and send the results to your instructor at safety@siu.edu.   Home Safety Quiz

Liberty Mutual Home Safety Tips - Look at Liberty Mutual's 20 home safety tips (this is a .pdf file) and send your Instructor (safety@siu.edu ) a complete copy of two of the tips.

Do the home safety inspection (read course assignments sheet) and submit to safety@siu.edu .

Review the video on lead poisoning called "lead away" at http://www.kittle.siu.edu/ritzel/313/wmv/