Introduction:
In Finland nearly 90% of fatal accidents and accidents that lead to injuries occur at home and during leisure time. The Finnish injury prevention multisectoral network, supported by authorities and organisations from different security fields, works to achieve a situation where Finns would not top the accident list in Europe. The network, coordinated by the Finnish Red Cross, has been improving Finns’ home and leisure time safety since 1993 with different means. The injury prevention network implements the Target Programme for the Prevention of Home and Leisure Injuries 2021–2030, set by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

Objectives: The work of the network prevents injuries by increasing people's awareness of home safety and injury prevention and influencing people's safer behavior. The long-term goal is to reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents by 25 percent by 2030 (the goal of the target program).

Methods:
Home and leisure injuries include different types of injuries and touch the entire population. Different target groups are communicated according to their needs. Target groups are reached through communication (web pages, social media), injury prevention materials, education, and safety campaigns: the Accident Prevention Day campaign and the ‘Stay on your feet’ anti-slipping campaign. The accident prevention day takes place on every Friday the 13th communicating how to prevent injuries at work, at home, and in traffic. The ‘Stay on your feet’- campaign, held in January, provides tips on how to avoid slipping aiming to reduce the burden on the healthcare arising from slipping and falling.

Results:
The campaigns reach approximately 2 million citizens annually. The campaigns are perceived important and interesting, and their messages make people think about their own safety practices. The injury prevention material, like checklists, is widely used especially in social and health care. Professionals and volunteers are essential operators in implementing actions into practice. Volunteer Safety Coaches hold safety briefings about injury prevention to different target groups regionally, mainly elderly. Their work encourages people for a safer everyday life increasing their awareness.

Conclusion: The work of injury prevention network is effective reaching a wide range of people and increasing their knowledge and skills about injury prevention. Strong collaboration between different parties, various means and increasing discussions are needed to effectively reduce home and leisure injuries.

Keywords: home and leisure injuries, network, campaigns, injury prevention

Finnish Red Cross - Helsinki - Southern Finland - Finland