Action 1: Use Data to Make Decisions

Data can help programs improve safety for children, staff, and families. It allows staff to predict injuries and take steps to prevent them. For example, programs can use their injury and incident data to look at the who, what, where, when, why, and how of injuries. After using data to identify hazards, use the strategies from the 10 actions to remove them.

Use Data to Make Decisions

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Action 1. Use Data to Make Decisions

Narrator: In a culture of safety, everyone shares the belief that children need to be safe. You can use data to improve safety for children, staff, and families. You can use data to predict injuries and take action to prevent them.

For example, national data shows that falls are the leading cause of injury among children. Your program can look for and remove tripping hazards to prevent falls.

Your annual report of injury data shows an increase in injuries in fall and spring. Your program can plan safety inspections and staff trainings at the beginning of each season. You may review injury reports and find that, in the past week, three children have been injured near the slide on your playground. You can make sure there is a safe surfacing under playground equipment and assign someone to actively supervise near the slide to prevent playground injuries.

Your program collects valuable data by documenting injuries. Injury reports can help you learn about when, where, how, and why injuries are happening. Hazard Mapping uses the data from your injury reports to help you understand trends by looking at patterns of injury. Using a map of your space, mark the locations of injuries. Make a list of the time of day they happen. Look at whether any equipment was involved, which children were involved, or other data that may show a pattern of injuries.

For example, your Hazard Mapping might show a pattern of injuries near an area rug in a corner of the classroom. You see that this is the third time a child has tripped and fallen on the rug, which is not securely attached to the floor. Your data allow you to predict that more injuries are going to occur until the problem is corrected. You notify a supervisor, and you put up a barrier so children cannot play in this area of the room until the rug is properly secured.

In a culture of safety, programs collect and share data with as many people as possible, because everyone has a role in keeping children safe. This includes the governing body, Policy Council, staff and administrators, the Health and Mental Health Services Advisory Committee, and families.

The next great idea for creating an injury prevention plan could come from any of these groups. Families may have insight into their child's injuries; staff may know why there are repeated injuries in a certain location; the Policy Council may need to understand injuries so they can recommend changes; and the governing body may need information so you can budget for ongoing maintenance, training, and improvements to the facility, materials, and equipment.

Don't forget to remove any personally identifiable information and maintain confidentiality when sharing health data with others. Remember, using data helps to predict and prevent injuries and promote a culture of safety.

Implementation Tips

Develop a process to collect quality data, and establish a system to review your data to identify and address safety concerns.
Consider these questions:
- What data will you collect?
- Who will collect the data?
- How will you train these individuals to make sure they understand how to use your program’s data collection tools?
- Who will enter the data into your recordkeeping and reporting system?
- Who will check the data to ensure it is complete and accurate?
- How often will you review the data to address any identified safety concerns?
Collect data to help you understand more about injuries and safety. This includes data from:
- Injury and incident reports: These reports show who, what, where, when, and how injuries or other safety incidents occurred. By reviewing this data, you may be able to identify patterns and trends. The Caring for Our Children (CFOC) Online Standards Database appendices include an Incident Report Form and a Child Injury Report Form you can use or adapt.
- Safety checklists: Checklists can help you find hazards in homes, centers, and playgrounds, and show which areas may need better maintenance or improvements.
- Facility maintenance logs: These logs help you track the status of repairs after someone has reported a hazard.
- Hazard mapping: Hazard mapping can help you pinpoint where injuries happen so you can take steps to prevent them.
- Ongoing monitoring data: This data can alert you to safety issues your program needs to address so you can plan to make improvements.
Review the data to learn more about incidents and injuries in your program. Review the data with a team to identify any trends (i.e., patterns of injury that you need to address), such as:
- Are certain children injured more often?
- Are injuries more common in certain locations?
- Are certain types of injuries more common?
- Are there more incidents at specific times or days?
If you identify trends, first make immediate changes to remove safety hazards. Then make changes to prevent the injuries from happening again.
Actions may include:
- Stronger management and oversight systems
- Changes to policies and procedures
- Changes in practice
- Upgrades to your facilities, equipment, and materials
- Staff training
- Updated action plans
- New or revised data collection tools
Share the data widely because everyone has a role in keeping children safe. Remember to remove any personal information and maintain confidentiality when sharing health data with others. The next great idea for creating an injury prevention plan could come from any of these groups:
- The governing body, who can budget for maintenance, training, and improvements
- Policy Council, who may need to understand injuries so they can recommend changes
- Staff and administrators, who can advise on and implement changes to policies and procedures
- Health and Mental Health Services Advisory Committee (HMHSAC), who can review the data and help identify trends and ways to address them
- Families, who may help you understand their child’s injuries, and who can help enforce safety rules at home