Chap 17: Injuries As A Community Health Problem: Anita Sego
Chap 17: Injuries As A Community Health Problem: Anita Sego
Chap 17: Injuries As A Community Health Problem: Anita Sego
Health Problem
Anita Sego
Spring, 2005
Chap 17: Injuries
Chapter Objectives
• Describe the importance of injuries as a
community health problem.
• Explain why the terms accidents and safety
have been replaced by the currently more
acceptable terms unintentional injuries, injury
prevention, and injury control when dealing with
such occurrences.
• Briefly explain the difference between
intentional injuries and provide examples of
each.
Chap 17: Injuries
Chapter Objectives
• List the four elements usually included in the
definition of the term unintentional injury.
• Summarize the epidemiology of unintentional
injuries.
• List strategies for the prevention and control of
unintentional injuries.
• Explain how education, regulation, automatic
protection, and litigation can reduce the number
and seriousness of unintentional injuries
Chap 17: Injuries
Chapter Objectives
• Define the term intentional injuries and
provide examples of behavior that
results in intentional injuries.
• Describe the scope of intentional injuries
as a community health problem in the
United States.
• List some contributing factors to
domestic violence and some strategies
for reducing it.
Chap 17: Injuries
Chapter Objectives
• List some of the contributing factors to
the increase in violence related to youth
gangs and explain what communities
can do to reduce this level of violence.
• Discuss intervention approaches in
preventing or controlling intentional
injuries.
Chap 17: Injuries
Definitions
• Injury
– acute exposure to physical agents interacting with the
body in amounts or at rates that exceed the threshold
of human tolerance.
• Unintentional injuries
– are those judged to have occurred without anyone
intending harm to be done
• Intentional injuries
– have been purposely inflicted whether by oneself or
another
Chap 17: Injuries
Characteristics of
Unintentional Injuries
1. Unplanned events
2. Preceded by an unsafe act or condition
3. Accompanied by economic loss
4. Interrupt the efficient completion of
tasks.
Chap 17: Injuries
Suicide
21% Unintentional
64%
Chap 17: Injuries
2500
2000
1500
per 100,000 pop
1000
500
0
Injury Cancer Heart HIV/ AIDS
Disease
Chap 17: Injuries
250
200
150
100
50
0
Injury Cancer Heart Disease
Chap 17: Injuries
Unintentional Injuries
• Motor vehicle crashes
– #1 cause of unintentional injury deaths
– 41,611 fatalities in 1999
– 3.3 million non-fatal injuries in 1999
• Other types
– falls 17,100 deaths - suffocation
– poisonings 10,500 deaths - fires & burns
– drowning 4,000 - discharge of
firearms
Chap 17: Injuries
Epidemiology of Unintentional
Injuries
• Person
• Age
– leading cause of death in the 1-44 year age
group
• Gender
– males are twice as likely as females
• Race
– leading cause of death for all racial & ethnic
groups excepts Blacks
Chap 17: Injuries
Epidemiology of Unintentional
Injuries
• Place
• Home
– more unintentional injuries occur in the home than in
any other place
• Highway
– ranks 2nd for non-fatal injuries; ranks 1st for
unintentional injury deaths
• Recreation/Sports Area
– Third mostly likely place to sustain injury
• Workplace
– 4th highest rate of unintentional injuries
Chap 17: Injuries
work/
Public Work motor-
vehicle
Motor- H ome
vehicle
Chap 17: Injuries
Epidemiology of Unintentional
Injuries
• Time
• Motor Vehicle Crashes
– highest rate in January and December
– alcohol involved in half of fatal crashes
• Drowning
– more occur in the summer months
– alcohol is involved in nearly half
• Fires
– more occur in the winter months
Chap 17: Injuries
Prevention through
Epidemiology
• Injury Prevention & Control Contributors
– Hugh De Haven
– John E. Gordon
– William Haddon, Jr.
• Public Health Model
– similar to communicable disease model -
except agent is “energy” in this model
Chap 17: Injuries
Energy
Host Environment
Energy
Host Environment
Energy
Host Environment
Injuries
• Intentional
– approximately 50,000 people die each year
– approximately 2.2 million receive nonfatal injuries as
a result of interpersonal violence
• Types
– Assaults
– Family Violence
– Rape
– Robbery
– Suicide
– Homicide
Chap 17: Injuries
Epidemiology of Intentional
Injuries
• Rates of homicide, assault, & rape
– homicide rate 9.8 per 100,000
– declining rates
– risk factors
• Suicide & attempted suicide
– nearly 30,000 suicides are reported each year
– rates among the young have tripled since 1950
• Firearm injuries
– 2nd leading cause of injury death
– 60% of homicide & 55% of suicides involved a firearm
Chap 17: Injuries
Ep lent
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V io
Crisis state
Stress period
Honeymoon
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Chap 17: Injuries
Approaches to Prevention
• Education
– Safe School/Healthy Student Initiative
• Employment & Recreation Opportunities
• Regulation & Enforcement
– Brady Bill
– Electronic detection of weapons
– Other types of regulation
• Counseling & Treatment
– represent secondary & tertiary prevention
Chap 17: Injuries
Chapter 17
Injuries As A
Community Health Problem