 | Injuries - Overview |
Injuries are an important cause of death and disability in the UK population.
The term injury includes unintentional injuries (or accidental injuries) as well as intentional injuries
(self harm and violence). These webpages aim to bring together some key information about injuries.
Further resources can also be found within the main site (either using the browse tree or via free text search).
If you have any comments or queries about this site, or would like to add anything including examples of work in
this area from your own area of practice, please contact
, Tel: 01223 - 76 25 25.
Definition
Injuries are defined as ‘damage to the body resulting from acute exposure to thermal, mechanical, electrical,
or chemical energy or from the absence of such essentials as heat or oxygen’(Sleet DA et al. Injury in Western Australia.
Perth: Department of Health, Government of Western Australia; 1991)
Terminology
Because the term ‘accident’ suggests that such events are random and unpreventable, the term ‘injury’ is used
wherever possible.
Policy and PSA targets
Unintentional injury was identified as a key public health priority in the previous White Paper on public health
Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation which set a national target for injury reduction:
- ‘To reduce the death rates from accidents by at least one fifth and to reduce the rate of serious injury from accidents by at least one tenth by 2010’ (Saving Lives)
Injuries are less prominent in the main text of the most recent White Paper Choosing Health although a summary
of action in this area is included in the Summary Annex. Three of the Public Service Agreements (HM Treasury) from the current
(2004-2006) spending review relates to injuries:
- ‘Reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in Great Britain in road accidents by 40%, and the
number of children killed or seriously injured by 50%, by 2010 compared with the average for 1994-98, tackling
the significantly higher incidence in disadvantaged communities’. (Dept of Transport PSA, 2004)
- ‘By 2010, reduce the number of accidental fire-related deaths in the home by 20% and the number of deliberate
fires by 10%’ (ODPM PSA, 2004)
- ‘…reduce the mortality rate from suicide and undetermined injury by at least 20% by 2010’
(Dept of Health PSA, 2004).
The government programme of change for children’s services Every Child Matters also included Staying Safe as one
of the 5 goals for children’s services.
Unintentional injuries
The burden of unintentional injury falls disproportionately on the young and the old. The Public Health White
Paper Choosing Health summarised some key intelligence relating to unintentional injuries in England Wales:
- Unintentional injury is a leading cause of child death in England and Wales. Around 2.7 million unintentional injuries that lead people to seek hospital treatment occur in UK homes
each year, over 40% of them caused by falls. Half a million people in England are admitted to hospital due
to accidental injury each year.
- Treating injury costs the NHS over £2 billion a year.
- Over 300,000 people are killed or injured in road traffic accidents in Great Britain each year.
- Falls are a major cause of disability and the leading cause of injury mortality in people aged over
75 in England and Wales.
Injuries are also an important cause of health inequalities. For example, there is a strong association between
childhood injury and social deprivation, particularly for pedestrian injuries. There are also gender differences,
for example, young men (aged 15 to 24) have a death rate for unintentional injury over 3.5 times than for women in
the same age range.
Accidental injury taskforce
In response to the national target set out in Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation
the CMO established a Task Force to advice on priorities for action to meet the targets. In 2002, the Task Force
published reports in three key areas together with an overview document:
- Preventing accidental injury: priorities for action (overview document)
- Prevention of childhood injury
- Measuring and monitoring injury
- Priorities for prevention (older people)
The Taskforce identified a number of priority areas for action (Accidental Injury Taskforce reports on DH website):
Priority Areas | Headline Interventions |
Falls at or near home |
- Referral of individuals to falls prevention programme
- Targeted exercise programmes for falls prevention
- Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis
- Home safety checks
|
Road accidents |
- 20 mph speed limits in areas of higher pedestrian activity
- Local child pedestrian training schemes and safe travel plans
- Systematic road safety intervention in inner city areas
- Advice and assessment programmes for elderly car drivers
|
Dwelling fires |
- Installation of smoke alarms by fire brigade
- Home fire risk assessments, safety checks and escape plans
- Target deprived groups, particularly children and older people
in privately rented and temporary accommodation and households in which people smoke
|
Play and recreation |
- Increase number of children undertaking cycle training and wearing cycle helmets
- Produce guidelines for safety in children’s sports
- Strengthen risk and safety education in schools
|
Intentional Injuries
Intentional injuries include those which are self-inflicted such as self-harm and suicide and injuries
intentionally inflicted on others such as violent assault.
Suicide
Reducing the mortality rate due to suicide and undetermined injury was identified as a key priority
in the government White Paper Saving Lives and is also included in the current Dept of Health PSA targets (see above).
Action to achieve this target was set out in the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England in 2002. More recently,
the Health Development Agency published an evidence briefing reviewing the effectiveness of preventive strategies
for youth suicide and suicidal behaviour. Suicide accounts for 30% of deaths in the 15-24 year age group.
Violence
The issue of reducing the occurrence of violence and violent injury in Britain was considered at a national
conference in March 2005
(conference report). The conference launched
Violent Britain: People, Prevention and Public Health which
aimed to bring together information on youth violence, intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, elder abuse
and sexual violence in the UK.
Key statistics from the report's executive summary include:
- There are 2.7 million incidents of violence every year in England and Wales.
- Assault is the second leading cause of hospital admissions in England for young males aged 15-24;
- Overall costs of intimate partner violence estimated to be £23 billion per year;
- Almost half of 10-14 year olds have suffered bullying at school;
- A quarter of women and 5% of men have experienced some form of sexual assault in their lifetime.
Domestic Violence
In March 2005, the Home Office published a National Report on Domestic Violence. This report aims to outline
action already taken to tackle domestic violence, including the introduction of the Domestic Violence Crime and
Victims Act 2004; as well as setting out future action in a National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan.
The plan highlights the role that health services can play in preventing domestic violence and supporting victims.
This is also underpinned by the
National Service Framework for Children and Maternity Services which states that
NHS maternity care providers and Primary Care Trusts should ensure that all pregnant women are offered a supportive
environment and the opportunity to disclose domestic violence.
Sources of injury data
Health |
| Hospital episode statistics (HES) | HES standard outputs |
| Compendium |
| Health Survey for England | |
| A&E data (not published) | Local access only |
| Ambulance data (not published) | Local access only |
| Trauma and Audit Research Network (TARN) | TARN website |
|
Transport |
|
Fire |
|
Home & Leisure |
| Home Accident Surveillance System (HASS), Home Accidents Deaths Database,
Leisure Accidents Surveillance System (DTI data collection up to 2000-2002 only,
now database held by RosPA but no on-going collection) |
HASS / LASS reports on RoSPA website |
|
Work | | Health and Safety Executive (RIDDOR, Labour Force Survey) | Work related injury data on HSE website | |
ONS | |
See also LHO website,
Local Basket of Health Inequalities data, Section 9, Accidents & Injury