Summertime or 'Trauma Season?' - Increase in Outdoor Activities Spurs Higher Risk...

Summertime or 'Trauma Season?' - Increase in Outdoor Activities Spurs Higher
Risk for Child Injury

Experts Launch www.aftertheinjury.org to Help Parents and Kids to a Full
Recovery

PHILADELPHIA, May 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Trauma season" is the
unfortunate nickname for summertime in the nation's hospitals. Warmer weather
and increased outdoor activity level brings an estimated 3 million children
under the age of 15 into emergency rooms in summer due to unintentional
injuries. Among the most common injuries are motor vehicle crashes,
water-related accidents, pedestrian accidents, falls, dog bites and bicycle,
skateboard and rollerblade incidents.

To help parents deal with kids' injuries in the summer and year-round, a team
of experts at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia today launched a new
website, After the Injury, at www.AfterTheInjury.org. The new site takes the
best from science and practice to allow parents to watch brief videos,
download tip sheets, and create a personalized care plan based on their
child's individual situation. The web site was developed by a team of
behavioral researchers, trauma surgeons and trauma nurses, based on nearly a
decade of research on childhood injury and its emotional effect on kids and
their parents.

"With all the doctors, nurses, and therapists who treat a child when he or she
is first hurt, it's still parents who play the most important role in their
child's physical and emotional recovery," said Flaura Koplin Winston, MD, PhD,
director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention and co-developer of
AfterTheInjury.org. "But often, parents are unsure of how they can best help
their children adjust after they've been hurt. While it is important to tend
to the wounds and rehabilitation, it is just as important to remember to look
beyond the physical injuries. We created AfterTheInjury.org with the guidance
of parents, to help them find the information they want, exactly when they
need it."

The web site serves as a comprehensive and free resource to help parents help
their kids achieve a full physical and emotional recovery, and includes expert
advice on everything from how to handle a hospital visit, to cast care and
pain management, to what to do if a child is having nightmares after the
accident. The site addresses topics such as:

-- Injury care and pain management for children
-- How to use crutches and care for a cast
-- Caring for head and abdominal injuries
-- How to handle an emergency room visit or time in the hospital
-- How to recognize and "rate" children's emotional
reactions to injury
-- How to talk with a child about an accident
-- Help for parents dealing with their own reactions to a child's
injury

-- How parents and children can get back to life as usual following an
injury or accident

"In the first few days after an injury or accident, many children feel a
little upset, jumpy or worried. Parents might notice that their child seems
upset when something reminds them of a scary part of what happened. Most kids
do fine, and these emotional reactions usually start to get better within a
few weeks," said Nancy Kassam-Adams, PhD, associate director for Behavioral
Research at The Center for Injury Research and Prevention. "We designed
AfterTheInjury.org to help parents know what to expect, get tips for how to
help their child, and how to find additional help if they need it."

The new web site offers parents easy access to credible information, tips, and
practical tools to help support their children's emotional recovery. The Web
Marketing Association recently presented a 2008 Web Award for Outstanding
Achievement in Website Development to the site. For more information about
emotional reactions to injury or to download resources and tip sheets, visit
www.AfterTheInjury.org.

About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's
first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing
exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare
professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital
has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its
pediatric research program is among the largest in the country, ranking second
in National Institutes of Health funding. In addition, its unique
family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 430-bed
hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For
more information, visit http://www.chop.edu.

CONTACT: Dana Mortensen
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
(267)426-6092
mortensen@email.chop.edu

SOURCE The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Dana Mortensen of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, +1-267-426-6092,
mortensen@email.chop.edu