Transcript Preventing Injuries in Our Community

Preventing Injuries in Our
Community
South West Ontario
What is an injury?
Injury is the physical damage that results when a
human body is suddenly or briefly subjected to
intolerable levels of energy.
The time between exposure to the energy and the
appearance of an injury is short.
Injuries are often the result of:
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Falls
Motor vehicle collisions
Self-harm
Unintentional poisoning
Sports and recreational activities
Off-road vehicle incidents
Pedestrian related incidents
Aren’t these accidents?
• ACCIDENTS are defined as ‘unavoidable
acts of fate’
• INJURIES are causally related to specific
risk factors and events… they are
predictable
• Which means, they are preventable!
How do we know Injuries are
common?
• On a national level, the public health agency
of Canada provides data related to the leading
causes of hospitalizations and deaths
• Injury is the leading cause of death for
Canadians aged 1 – 34
• Further, if we include intentional injuries
(suicide) it is the leading cause for ages 1 - 44
Injury in Canada:
Public Health Agency of Canada, 2013.
Injury at a local level:
• Injuries are tracked through a number of provincial and
national databases in terms of:
– Emergency room visits due to injury
– Hospital admissions due to injury
– Fatalities due to injury
• For this presentation, the data comes from the Ministry of Health
and Long Term Care’s IntelliHEALTH database
• The South West region includes the following PHUs: WindsorEssex, Chatham-Kent, Elgin St. Thomas, Lambton, MiddlesexLondon, Oxford, Huron County, Grey Bruce, Perth
What causes injuries in our
community?
• In South West Ontario, the most common
causes of injuries are:
– Falls
– On-road incidents
– Pedestrian incidents
– Poisoning
– Sports and recreation incidents
– Suicide
Emergency Room Visits
Note: Inanimate injuries relate to being crushed by objects. Animate injuries
relate to interactions with animals.
Source: Ontario Regional Injury Data Report, 2013
Hospital Admissions
Source: Ontario Regional Injury Data Report, 2013
Fatalities
Source: Ontario Regional Injury Data Report, 2013
Preventing Injuries
• Why does prevention matter?
– There is no ‘cure’ for injury
– As the data shows, injuries are common
– Injuries have been estimated to cost Canadians 19.8 Billion
dollars (SMARTRISK, 2009)
– Looking past the physical and financial aspects of injury,
there is also the emotional and social aspects
– Injuries cause the families in our community needless
emotional pain and loss
– Difficult social transitions for injury survivors
What works for prevention?
There are simple strategies we can work on right away to prevent
injuries in South West Ontario:
Falls: Remove hazards, exercise
On-Road Incidents: Be alert and aware, wear seatbelts, slow down
Pedestrian Incidents: Wear helmets, obey the rules, be visible
Poisoning: Smart storage, active supervision
Sports and Recreation: Wear protective gear, be educated, train
Suicide: Early intervention, mental health treatment and awareness
Injury Prevention
• Strategies often relate to the 3 E’s of Injury
Prevention:
– Education (e.g., mental health awareness)
– Enforcement (e.g., seatbelt laws)
– Engineering (e.g., protective gear)
• Injury prevention will be most successful
when a combination of these types of
strategies is used!
Injury Prevention
• Because these strategies cross many sectors
(e.g., equipment development, information
technology, law enforcement, education,
public health, etc.), prevention efforts that can
be designed and implemented with various
community partners on board are best
Potential Partners and Resources
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Parachute
Ontario Injury Prevention Resource Centre
Alberta Centre for Injury Research and Control
BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit
Atlantic Collaborative on Injury Prevention