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Welcome to
Think First!
Each year, an
estimated 500,000 persons in the United States sustain a brain
or spinal cord injury. In fact, injury is the leading cause of
death among children and teens. The most frequent causes of
these injuries are motor vehicle crashes, violence, falls,
sports and recreation. The good news is that most injuries
are preventable! The ThinkFirst
National Injury Prevention Foundation's award-winning, evidence-based
programs are aimed at helping people learn to reduce their risk
for injury.
ThinkFirst
programs educate young people about their personal vulnerability
and the importance of making safe choices. The message is: You
can have a fun-filled, exciting life, without hurting yourself
if you "ThinkFirst." Buckle
up. Drive safe and sober. Avoid violent situations. Lower your
risk to fall. Wear a helmet. Check the water before you dive.
Use your mind to protect your body!
Our network of
ThinkFirst Chapters provides
powerful, thought-provoking, upbeat programs to students of all
ages. "Street Smart," the Safety Superhero, delights young
children, while teens relate to our VIP speakers—Voices For
Injury Prevention—who share how a traumatic injury needlessly
changed their life. Last year ThinkFirst chapters provided over
8,000 educational presentations at schools, businesses,
organizations, conferences, and community events.
Use
this website as your resource for locating chapter sites,
utilizing interactive online learning, and ordering educational
products. We also invite you to be a part of our effort to
reduce injuries by becoming a ThinkFirst
Member or making an honorary or memorial donation. Working
together, we can play a significant role in helping kids learn
to "ThinkFirst!"
Think
First:
Leading Injury
Prevention through education,
research and policy.
Your Partner in
Prevention.
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History
National Head and Spinal Cord Injury Prevention
Program, was first implemented nationally in 1986. The American
Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of
Neurological Surgeons (CNS) directed two neurosurgeons, E. Fletcher
Eyster, MD, of Pensacola, Florida and Clark Watts, MD, of Columbia,
Missouri to develop a national injury prevention program based on their
previous prevention efforts in their respective communities.
The AANS and CNS initiated the development of the national program due
to their frustration at not being able to cure or "fix" brain and spinal
cord injured patients. These groups share the belief that prevention is
the only cure, and that neurosurgeons have a duty to try to prevent
these traumatic injuries. Eyster and Watts saw the assignment from the
two largest professional neurosurgical organizations as an opportunity
to recruit other health professional to undertake public education
prevention efforts, as well as to address public policy issues related
to injury prevention.
Each locally established program was sponsored by a neurosurgeon
committed to public education and injury prevention. The replicable
program materials consisted of a youth-oriented program, reinforcement
and public education program, and a program to influence public
attitudes and legislative policy. ThinkFirst's
initial program, ThinkFirst
for Teens, was offered to middle and high school audiences to teach
young people about personal vulnerability and risk taking.
The tremendous response to the program throughout the country led to its
institutionalization by the AANS and CNS. Their continued support is a
statement of the national neurosurgical community's ongoing commitment
to public health and injury prevention.
The efficacy of the ThinkFirst
National Injury Prevention Foundation
has been demonstrated through its increasing acceptance by school
educators, student essays, letters from parents and public officials,
adoption by professional organizations, the measurement of attitude
changes toward injury by students, and the increased usage of safety
belts in the targeted age group.
National and
international recognition
The ThinkFirst
National Injury Prevention Foundation
received the 1988 Presidential Citation for Private Sector Initiatives
and the 1989 Award for Excellence in Prevention Education from the
American Medical Association. In 2000, Life Space Adaptation Projects of
the University of Toronto identified ThinkFirst as an example of "Best
practice" in the category of Comprehensive Community-Based Prevention
Strategies. Two years later, the California Department of Education
recognized ThinkFirst for Kids as a research-validated program and
accepted it into its California Healthy Kids Resource Center, making the
curriculum and its supplementary materials available for loan throughout
the California educational system.
A new era
Today, the ThinkFirst
National Injury Prevention Foundation
offers a research-validated multi-level educational program that has
reached over 8 million young people nationally and internationally, has
had major influences on public policy initiatives, and continues to
expand to reach those most vulnerable to traumatic injuries. Founded in
neurosurgery, ThinkFirst,
by virtue of its work in treating patients who have sustained traumatic
injuries, physicians and allied health professional are natural
spokespersons for prevention. Recently, ThinkFirst
has expanded its
efforts to encourage all health professionals to get involved.
ThinkFirst provides health professionals with the impetus, tools, and
support to assist in spreading the prevention message in their
communities, especially to young people.
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THE MISSION OF “ THINK FIRST ”IS:
The foundation’s mission is to prevent brain and spinal cord injuries through educating people and community leaders and the proposal of preventative measures and laws.
Objectives:
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1) Teaching prevention of accidents and serious and definitive sequelae in brain and spinal cord trauma.
2) Create a sense of responsibility about the use of the seat belt by the driver and all passengers in the car.
3) Mandatory use of head protection for children practicing sports such as skating, cycling and skateboards.
4) Information about the risks of diving in low depth swimming pools and on beaches.
Also check for dangerous and large objects in the water.
5) Violence is the other danger that needs to be addressed, because the use of drugs and alcohol predisposes persons to violent acts with serious consequences especially when it produces brain and spinal cord injuries.
6) Explanation of the risk of brain complications which can be produced when babies are shaken constantly or from playing with them. This could produce an abnormal brain movement (Shaken Baby Syndrome). Also warn about the dangers of intracranial hemorrhages by the change of position of the brain (rough movements) and their relationship with the intracranial veins and the longitudinal sinus.
7) Explanation on the correct use of showers and bathtubs and the dangers of using them without protection. Falls can cause vertebral and spinal cord injuries, especially in the cervical area.
8) Increase awareness of prevention as an importance measure to avoid the severe and permanent sequelae of brain and spinal cord injuries.
9) Create responsibility and commitment to the obligatory use of seat belts by drivers and passengers.
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(714) 675-3141 * Fax: 1-800
714-5969
5267 Warner Avenue #282, Huntington Beach, CA 92649, USA
Calle UNAP 245, Lima 14 – Peru, South America
email: mp128@aol.com www.npaf-peru.org |
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Mission & Objectives