Citation

Wegman DH, Wagner GR. Am. J. Public Health 2012; 102(6): 1053.

Affiliation

Department of Work Environment University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2012.300826

PMID

22515852

Abstract

Injuries are not accidents, so in public health we search for their causes to improve prevention. The best of these efforts seek to identify root causes, avoiding the more limited approach that stops at the level of "the human" responsible for "the error." Attention is directed to the variety of systems-related determinants that permit or promote human error-a root cause analysis resulting in a robust understanding of injury causality. As these root cause analyses move further upstream past a focus on individuals into systems, cultures, and societies, we have learned that the prevention of the majority of injuries depends much more on understanding organizational rather than individual factors. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print April 19, 2012: e1. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.300826).

Language: en