Prevention of injury and violence in the USA

• Published in: The Lancet (British edition) Vol. 384; no. 9937; pp. 64 - 74
• Main Authors: Haegerich, Tamara M, Dahlberg, Linda L, Simon, Thomas R, Baldwin, Grant T, Sleet, David A, Greenspan, Arlene I, Degutis, Linda C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 05.07.2014; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Accidental Falls - prevention & control; Accidental Falls - statistics & numerical data; Age; Assaults; Brain Injuries - epidemiology; Brain Injuries - prevention & control; Cardiovascular disease; Chronic illnesses; Clinical medicine; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Disease control; Disease prevention; Drug overdose; Evidence-Based Medicine; Firearms; Government Programs; Health care; Humans; Influenza; Injuries; Internal Medicine; Mortality; Murders & murder attempts; Poisoning; Prevention; Primary Prevention - methods; Primary Prevention - organization & administration; Primary Prevention - trends; Public Health; Residence Characteristics; Task forces; United States - epidemiology; Violence; Violence - prevention & control; Violence - statistics & numerical data; Wounds and Injuries - epidemiology; Wounds and Injuries - mortality; Wounds and Injuries - prevention & control; United States; United States > US
• ISSN: 0140-6736; 1474-547X; 1474-547X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60074-X

In the first three decades of life, more individuals in the USA die from injuries and violence than from any other cause. Millions more people survive and are left with physical, emotional, and financial problems. Injuries and violence are not accidents; they are preventable. Prevention has a strong scientific foundation, yet efforts are not fully implemented or integrated into clinical and community settings. In this Series paper, we review the burden of injuries and violence in the USA, note effective interventions, and discuss methods to bring interventions into practice. Alliances between the public health community and medical care organisations, health-care providers, states, and communities can reduce injuries and violence. We encourage partnerships between medical and public health communities to consistently frame injuries and violence as preventable, identify evidence-based interventions, provide scientific information to decision makers, and strengthen the capacity of an integrated health system to prevent injuries and violence.