INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVE:
In summer 2021, SCSN commissioned a research literature review, exploring the factors that cause - and those that mitigate against - injury at home. The report was shared last June: https://www.safercommunitiesscotland.org/2021/06/30/causation-factors-of-unintentional-injury-in-the-home-3/ An extract from the report’s opening reveals: “Every year, there are 6000 deaths in the UK as a result of accidents in or around the home... A UK government report published in 2018 stated that accidents at home are a leading cause of preventable death for children under five years… older people are also at an increased risk of injury and death...” We don’t think of our homes as hazardous places. But the evidence - backed up by findings from Public Health Scotland (PHS) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) - are clear. Injury and fatalities occur in homes, and in growing numbers. Due to the global pandemic – with shifts in society’s behaviours, rituals and relationships with home – citizens are at home more of the time. Therefore, this issue has become more pressing, critical and immediate. But resources have been reduced, or redirected. So we wanted to challenge that decline; to persuade and remind, of the need for attention and action. We wanted to produce a resource that would emphasise our report’s findings in an interactive, open way. We invited friends, RoSPA - and hired a talented local illustrator – to collaborate with us, to develop a unique fusion of art and data, to create a Home Safety Map: https://www.safercommunitiesscotland.org/home-safety-map/

METHOD:
Not a ‘map’ in its literal sense. And although there are no coordinates or ‘X’ marking a spot of riches, there are useful directions and treasures to find. We wanted to create something that helps make the subject feel alive and relatable, and reach people - ideally guardians, carers - but primarily, children and older people.

RESULTS:
We kept text to a minimum. We recognised that in many communities, literacy is limited (for a variety of reasons). Two of the principle demographics are the very young and very old. We wanted the map to be universally understood, without compromising effectiveness or purpose. It’s also true that people, generally find it harder to connect with unsettling information. But art can help soften and make information more accessible.

CONCLUSION: We would be delighted to share our experience and findings with European safety partners.

KEY WORDS: Home; safety; innovation; prevention; awareness

RoSPA & SCSN are working together in Scotland to raise awareness of home safety & accident prevention. Home Safety Scotland (HSS), - a community of interest and excellence for professionals focussed on home safety meets regularly. Operating as a knowledge exchange network, promoting sharing of best practice. It offers regular opportunity to hear expert guest speakers, share problems collectively and seek solutions. Free to join, hosted by SCSN, supported by RoSPA. We have been using data to highlight that falls are a growing and major public health issue. Public Health Scotland (PHS) highlights 1 in 9 emergency hospital admissions as a direct result of unintentional injury (2,759 deaths in 2020) The young and elderly are most at risk. RoSPA's Injury pyramid for Scotland and Local Authority tables give details.
The Scottish Government funds both organisations to support community safety partnerships take preventative action, collaborate to deliver evidence-based interventions, and work across the system developing joined-up approaches. RoSPA and SCSN worked collaboratively creating a Home safety interactive map. This map illustrates research into common, avoidable hazards in homes. It highlights tragic causes of injury and death, specific to pre-school children and adults over 65. This resource is for everyone but should be of particular interest to parents and carers. We want all citizens in Scotland, to be safe and aware at home.

https://www.safercommunitiesscotland.org/home-safety-map/

SCSN, RoSPA and Fife Council developed the Mark McCall Home Safety Fund in tribute to a colleague. Care and Repair Lanarkshire successfully applied and were awarded the full amount to provide and install home safety equipment to households with young children. As part of the UNCRC’s Right for children and young people to be heard RoSPA launched a survey to find out what types of accidents young people have been involved in and how they think the accident could have been prevented. Results of this survey are due in summer 2023. RoSPA provides Secretariat to this Cross Party Group on Accident Prevention and Safety Awareness, which has been active for 10 years. SCSN is a member. It considers and benefits from expert information on health and safety in all areas including in the home, on the road, in and around water and in the workplace. SCSN and RoSPA have increased home safety awareness across Scotland.

INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVE:
In mid-2021, when the UN Conference of Parties 26, or ‘COP26’ was due to be held in Glasgow that same year, SCSN was keen to explore what impacts – in the immediate and short term – climate change could have on Scottish community safety. We believed this was a relatively, perhaps entirely unexplored theme; assessing the impact climate change will have on community safety.

METHODS:
In October 2021, following a rapid evidence review of key policy documents, SCSN facilitated an online workshop. Over 30 community safety practitioners from across Scotland took part. They shared rich local knowledge and professionally informed perspectives, from urban and rural experiences, on what changes to the climate might mean for their areas of work and communities. Data was collated and organised into a written report: https://www.safercommunitiesscotland.org/wp-content/uploads/Climate-Change-Workshop-Report.pdf This was published days before COP26 began. But we wanted our findings to be seen and heard and remembered, to help spark conversations. We were open to less conventional methods - more creative means - to achieve this. We hired a local illustrator and worked closely with her, to adapt our report and develop a new, abbreviated version of its contents. We transformed our report into a bespoke illustrated zine; a fusion of art, data and ideas.

RESULTS:
A ‘zine’ is shorthand for ‘magazine’. Typically, a small-circulation, self-published mix of illustration and text. We believed this would make the work feel more alive; capture attention; reach new audiences; and encourage existing partners to engage where they might not otherwise. We wanted to weave inviting aesthetics through co-created data: https://www.safercommunitiesscotland.org/new-climate-change-community-safety-zine/ We want this work to reach people, for it to be useful. The research – or what the zine tells us – adds weight and credibility, encouraging others to spend time and resource on this critical issue. From a chorus of informed, professional voices, we wanted our zine to spark dialogues between colleagues and neighbours, leaders and decision makers, and help advance conversations about the need to prepare for climate influenced change in community safety.

CONCLUSION:
We have shared copies with Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) across Scotland, and other relevant stakeholders. We have been encouraged by people’s enthusiasm for it. We are keen to share our experience – and our data – with safety colleagues across Europe.

KEY WORDS: Climate; safety; creativity; innovation; dialogue