Injuries

Injuries are one of the world’s primary health problems. They are a leading cause of death and disability for every age group under 60. Injuries can be unintentional, such as traffic crashes, drowning, and burns; or they can be self-inflicted, as in suicide, or due to interpersonal violence.

Unintentional injuries take an especially high toll among young people. Each year, nearly 12,000 youth (18 years of age and younger) die as a result of unintentional injuries in the United States. An almost equal number are injured seriously enough to seek treatment in an emergency room. A substantial number of these children require lengthy hospital stays and rehabilitation or become permanently disabled. In low- and middle-income countries, the rate of child deaths from injury is higher than in high-income countries. Unintentional injuries have consequences not only for children’s physical and emotional health, but for their academic achievement, their families’ finances, and the nation’s health care system.

Until the late 1980s, unintentional injuries were viewed as unavoidable “accidents.” Public health professionals now realize that although injuries have a variety of causes, data can reveal clear patterns of how they happen. Through planned and targeted interventions, injuries can be prevented, especially through environmental and legislative changes, such as laws requiring seat belts. HHD has been a leader in the effort to prevent and reduce the toll from injuries. We guide state and local public health professionals, schools, community agencies, and workplaces in taking a comprehensive, public health approach to injury prevention. Many of our projects in this area encompass prevention of both unintentional and intentional injury.