Throughout the world, injuries are the leading cause of death for young adults, adolescents, and children. Injury death and hospitalization are also high among the elderly. With the improved prevention and treatment of infectious and degenerative diseases, the importance of injuries as a debilitating factor has rapidly increased around the world. Better living conditions have decreased the number of some types of injuries--such as drownings and burns--but the proliferation of new, high-energy vehicles, machinery, and weapons has offset this trend by significantly increasing the number of other types of injuries. This book documents the nature and magnitude of the problem and provides basic approaches to injury prevention. Injury statistics are supplied for many developing countries and indigenous populations as well as for industrialized nations. Important differences among countries and cultures affecting the types and circumstances of injury are illustrated in tables and figures that present extensive data and greatly enhance the book's usefulness. The many types of injuries covered in detail include those related to traffic, falls, burns, drowning, poisoning, animal and insect bites, envenomations, occupation, disasters, suicide, and homicide. The authors take a methodologic approach to the analysis of the health impact, circumstances, and costs of injuries. They detail the costs and health impact of injuries, as well as the role of health services in injury prevention. They describe surveillance methods and effective preventive measures that can be implemented relatively easily even in countries with limited resources. Reflecting the authors extensive experience in injury prevention in a variety of countries, this book will help readers understand this major health problem, the changes that could reduce it, and the means of influencing crucial public policies. Succinct and practical, Injury Prevention is intended for public health practitioners who develop and evaluate injury surveillance programs, epidemiologists and other researchers who wish to understand the patterns of injury occurrence, and government officials and policy makers concerned with public safety and injury prevention.

Peter Barss has written for several North American newspapers and magazines and his photography has illustrated several books. He is also the author of Older Ways: Traditional Nova Scotian Craftsmen. Barss has received a number of awards for both his writing and his photography, and he is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. He lives in West Dublin, Nova Scotia.

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"This book is lucidly written, clearly presented with excellent sign posting and identification of sub-sections, includes some case studies and is enlivened by appropriate quotations . . . . I would therefore strongly recommend Barss et al. to the general reader who wants a broad overview of the epidemiology of injury." Family Practice

"This is a book... about social justice, assembling what is known about injury prevention, so that it is available for use in the entire world. In bringing together the art and science of injury prevention for the benefit of everyone, the book is ambitious, thorough, and helpful. Its publication is a landmark event. Now it must be used."--William H. Foege, from the Foreword

"With injuries becoming the leading cause of death among many population groups, this book provides an excellent overview of the issues and challenges faced by public health practitioners as the threat of infectious disease wanes in comparison." -- Ardene Robinson Vollman, RN, PhD, Canadian Journal of Public Health, Vol 91, No. 4, July-Aug 2000

"...this is an informative and stimulating book that is highly recommended for health science libraries."--Doody's Journal

" ... a valuable resource for those involved in injury surveillance and prevention. Overall rating: Very good to excellent. " Chronic Diseases in Canada (vol. 20, no. 2, 1999)

"It's greatest strength is being rooted in practical experience of the epidemiology of unintentional injuries around the world-Papua New Guinea, Angola, Greenland and the USA."--International Journal of Epidemiology

"What we now have is a landmark addition to a remarkably small shelf of texts about this subject....This book Rrovides...a truly international perspective, using comparisons as the basis for highlighting problems in prevention in the developing world."--British Medical Journal