Recognition for injury pioneers

Dr Susan Baker has been awarded the American Public Health Association Award for Excellence. It is the first time that the award has gone to a person working in injury prevention. In the UK, the James Spence Medal of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has been awarded to Dr Hugh Jackson, who co-founded the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT). Fittingly, both are honorary editors of this journal and continue to be active advocates for improving the safety of children and young people.

Another member of our editorial board has also won a national honour. David Sleet has received the 1999 Mayhew Derryberry Award for outstanding contribution to health education research or theory in behavioral sciences from the American Public Health Association. The award recognizes his efforts to increase the value of theory based health education research and practice, particularly in the field of injury control.

. . . while another pioneer dies

John Paul Stapp, once known as the “the fastest man on Earth” for his rocket sled test runs in the New Mexico desert, died in November at age 89. During the 1950s, he subjected himself to 29 rocket sled rides, proving human beings could withstand more than 40 times the force of gravity. In an unprecedented test in 1954, Stapp's sled accelerated in 5 seconds from a standstill to 632 mph, then was brought to a stop in 1.4 seconds. The information collected provided criteria for crash protection designs for aircraft, space cabins, and ground vehicles as well as for tolerance limits for pilots in aircraft ejection seats.

North American guidelines for children's agricultural tasks

The National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety has released the North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT), developed by a team of nearly 150 advisors from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The North American guidelines are a unique …