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Abstract
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Injuries, although almost entirely preventable, accounted for more than 4.4 million deaths and resulted in over 520 million cases of nonfatal injury-related harm globally in 2017 [1]. Road traffic injuries, falls and drowning are leading injury mechanisms [2,3,4]. However, some population groups are more vulnerable to being injured than others. This Special Issue sought to unpack this concept by exploring the determinants of health and their impact on child injuries.
The determinants of health are a wide group of underlying causes, often referred to as the "causes of the causes" [5], which impact health and wellbeing. Determinants of health include level of education, family income, housing conditions, and the geographical location of place of residence [6]. While it is clear that determinants of health impact wellbeing and quality of life [7,8,9], more work needs to be done to explore their impact on injury risk. Even more important is the need to identify and quantify the bi-directional benefit of preventing injury and addressing determinants of health [10,11]. This is of importance across all ages; however, the greatest health gains can be made among children and adolescents [12]; hence the focus of this Special Issue.
There are many examples of how determinants of health impact injury risk. These include geographical location, income level and employment. Geographical location impacts availability of medical services, with rural people often located at a larger distance from emergency services, which impacts response times [13]. There are also persistent healthcare workforce shortages [14] resulting in reduced access to services such as occupational therapy for in-home modifications or physiotherapy to help with strength, balance and posture to prevent falls [15].
Similarly, income level impacts injury risk with higher rates of road traffic injuries seen in lower income areas due to differences in roadway design [16]. A low-income household was found to be the single most important predictor for severe paediatric intentional and unintentional injury [17]. Higher rates of fire-related injuries [18] and hot water-related burns and scalds [19] were seen in low-income households, in part due to lower use of protective devices such as smoke alarms and hot water system modifications.
Income level is linked to employment. Research indicates higher rates of suicide [20] and intentional injury [21] among those who are unemployed and higher rates of injury-related fatalities among children in households where no adults are employed [22]. Unemployment is also linked to alcohol and drug abuse [23], another risk factor for a myriad of injury mechanisms.
Education, another determinant of health, is used to impact injury prevention with schools used to deliver messages and information often provided in written form to parents and caregivers to help inform about child and household safety. For example...
Language: en |