Abstract

The Basic Education Act of Finland states that ‘A pupil participating in education shall be entitled to a safe learning environment.’ Yet the information about school-based injuries is not routinely collected. The Green-Cross application was co-designed with the end-users and the aim was to design a digitalized tool for surveillance of school injuries and for practical preventive actions. The data in this pilot study was collected in five Finnish comprehensive schools during 2014–2017.

In general, the reported risks and incidents at the school were injuries and violence. There were total 214 reported cases. Of these, (n=181) 85% were injuries and (55) 30%of them were head injuries. Of all the reported injuries (51) 28% happened in the learning environment (during lessons). Of these, (35) 69% happened during physical education lesson and further on, (64) 35% during recess. In the whole sample (n=214), (69) 32% of the reported cases indicated unpredictable human behavior or acting against norms or regulations typical for children and youth.

Most of the school injuries are minor ones. However, relatively big number of head injuries should be taken in to consideration and the schools should be provided more support in analyzing these. In the light of this study, it looks clear, that more focus should be put also on analyzing the childrens’ behavior against the norms. Initial results show a promising potential in the Green Cross software. However, the injuries and especially the near miss cases in the schools are assumed to remain under-reported.