Background In Japan the leading cause of death of 1–19 years is unintentional injuries. However, people's awareness of the issue and its preventability remain low.

Purpose To implement a community-based injury prevention programme which citizens, educators, engineers, manufacturers and policy makers work together, recognising one another's strengths.

Methods In Omura, Nagasaki, we conducted a community-based participatory research project, named ‘Love & Safety Omura Study’. We worked with Nagasaki Medical Center and the fire department to collect injury data and identify the causes and characteristics of childhood injury in Omura.

Results Ninety-nine children's injury cases were identified. The number one cause of injury was falls followed by bicycle-related injuries, car crashes, and collisions. Bicycles were most often involved in childhood injuries. Agricultural machinery and two-wheeled carts were also related to injuries, reflecting the regional characteristics of Omura. We developed digital content based on the results of data analysis and presented it at a workshop for citizens. Effectiveness of the workshop was evaluated by questionnaires.

Workshop Evaluation Only 65% of the respondents were aware that unintentional injury is the number one cause of death in children before attending the workshop. All 94% of the respondents believed that injuries are preventable after attending the workshop, and they successfully indicated preventive actions such as buying childproofing products, pulling the plug on a bathtab, and replacing the rubber seal for a hot water pot, which were introduced in the developed DVD.

Conclusion A collaborative and multidisciplinary approach is key to effective community-based injury prevention.