Injury prevention in public health: Why ‘accidents’ aren’t inevitable
By Jill Solomon, MPH '20 and Taylor Hautala, MPH '18
Injuries are the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 1 and 44, yet injury prevention often flies under the radar. This essential part of public health seeks to prevent a wide variety of injuries — like a sports injury or an overdose. These types of injuries could lead to emergency room visits, hospital stays, or worse. In 2022 alone, nearly one in five people sought medical attention for an injury — more than 65 million people.
Unintentional and intentional injuries: It’s all preventable
Injuries can be unintentional, like falls, concussions, and motor vehicle crashes, or intentional, including suicide and violence. Importantly, injuries are preventable, and the term “accidents” doesn’t reflect this. The term “accident” implies inevitability, that things like car crashes, broken bones, or overdoses can’t be prevented. In reality, we work to prevent things like this every day. Here are just a few well-known examples of injury prevention strategies:
- Regulate speed: Speed limits help to prevent crashes.
- Naloxone access: Widely available naloxone can reverse opioid overdoses.
- Swim safety training: Teaching people to swim reduces the risk of drowning.
The complexity of injury prevention
Injury prevention isn’t simple — it requires multifaceted approaches to address the diverse factors involved. As examples:
- Motor vehicle crashes: Improved road design, campaigns against distracted driving, encouraging seat belt use.
- Opioids and overdose: Making naloxone available, reducing stigma around overdose, and equitably connecting people to treatment options.
- Concussions: Supplying safer sports equipment, training coaches/personnel on how to identify a concussion, and proper athlete recovery before they return to sport.
This isn’t an exhaustive list, and many different strategies and interventions are required to improve health. There isn't one magic solution to preventing injuries, which is why it takes collaboration, diverse perspectives, creativity, and commitment to finding effective strategies.
National Injury Prevention Day: November 18
November 18 marks National Injury Prevention Day, a time to raise awareness and recognize progress in this field. Events nationwide focus on educating the public about injury prevention’s critical role in public health.
About the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center
The University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center is one of 11 CDC-funded Injury Control Research Centers across the US. With a focus on research, education, and outreach, the center addresses
key areas like concussions, motor vehicle crashes, opioids and overdose, violence,
older adult falls, adverse childhood experiences, suicide prevention, global injury
prevention, and other emerging areas. Learn more about the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center.
About the Authors
Jill Solomon, MPH, CHES
Jill joined the Injury Prevention Center in 2022. In her role, she supports training and outreach across all of the focus areas of injury prevention. Jill holds a Master of Public Health Degree in Health Behavior & Health Education from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). She has experience in health communication, motivational interviewing, and mHealth development.
Taylor Hautala, MPH
Taylor joined the Injury Prevention Center in 2021. In her role, she supports training and outreach across all of the focus areas of injury prevention. Taylor holds a Master of Public Health Degree in Health Behavior & Health Education from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and has experience in child/adolescent health and substance use research.