Injury Prevention and Safety
Injuries are a leading cause of death for Americans across all demographics. Equally significant are the short and long-term disabilities suffered by those who survive a traumatic injury. Public health departments play a crucial role in injury prevention efforts. These efforts include preventing accidental as well as intentional injuries.
Resources
OSHA Proposed Rule Protecting Workers from Extreme Heat
Public Health Under Threat: An Examination of State Laws Protecting Public Health Officials from Harassment
How Can State and Local Health Departments Combat Antibiotic Resistant Superbugs?
Law and Policy Pathways to Addressing Rising Youth Suicide Rates
State Laws Addressing Concussions in Youth Sports
Smoke Alarm Installation Liability
Policy Scan and Summary of State Laws Addressing Boating Under the Influence
Intimate Partner Violence in the LGBTQ Community: Examining the Legal, Practical and Real World Challenges Facing Survivors
Key Public Health Initiatives: A Year in Review
Housing Law and the Impact on Domestic Violence Survivors
Tax Incentives and Public Health: Injury Prevention on the Road, on the Water, and at Home
Next Generation 911: Maryland Answers the Call to Upgrade the State’s Emergency Response System
Spotlight
Opportunity to Promote Public Health for Workers Exposed to Extreme Heat
Laws Integrating the Use of Technology in Driver Education and Training Can Promote Safer Driving
Roads for All, Safety for Some: Addressing Inequities in Traffic Fatalities through Law and Policy
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A Closer Look at Injury Prevention and Safety
In addition to preventing, treating and curing chronic illness and disease, public health practice also includes injury prevention.
The scope of injuries addressed by public health practitioners is broad and includes:
- Falls among the elderly, children and those with limited mobility
- Unintentional poisoning by household chemicals or medication
- Fire and fireworks-related injuries
- Drowning or other water-related injuries in the home or during recreation
- Motor vehicle injuries caused by distracted driving, drunk or other impaired driving
- Intentional violence against children or the elderly, at home, work or school
- Sexual assaults and suicides
Injury prevention researchers attempt to identify environmental and behavioral risk factors and patterns that contribute to injury. Public health lawyers use the results of this research to use or change laws to ensure that they effectively prevent or reduce the causes of injury. For example, research that revealed that children under 80 pounds were much less likely to suffer serious injury in a motor vehicle accident if restrained in a car seat led to successful efforts to secure laws mandating the use of child safety seats in states across the country. Likewise, research has shown face-to-face patient counseling to be an effective method of reducing accidental medication poisonings, leading public health professionals to work with pharmacists to develop protocols for such counseling. In turn, public health lawyers routinely work with public health researchers, policy makers, legislators and others to develop and secure effective laws and policies designed to discourage risky behavior and increase safety in the home, at work and in the community.
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