Injury Prevention

Why is injury a public health problem?

Young girl sitting in a car booster seat.

In Vermont, injuries are the leading cause of death among persons aged 15 to 44, and the fifth leading cause of death among persons of all ages.

Each year, nearly 300 Vermonters die and thousands of others are hospitalized due to injury. Most of these deaths are preventable, often through the application of known interventions such as seat belts, smoke detectors and bike helmets.


Types of Injury

Unintentional injuries - such as motor vehicle crashes, fires and burns, drowning, falls, occupational injuries, poisoning, choking, bicycle-related.

Intentional injuries - such as homicide, suicide, rape, domestic violence, child abuse.

Injury Prevention

There are three general strategies to prevent injuries

  1. Educate people about potential risks of injury.
  2. Advocate for individual behavior change or system change by law or administrative rule.
  3. Provide protective factors by product or environmental design.

For example, child safety seat usage shows how the three strategies can be implemented to prevent injuries in children due to motor vehicle crashes.

  1. Education is necessary to persuade parents to secure their children in car seats every time they ride in a motor vehicle.
  2. Vermont law requires that all children under the age of five be restrained in a federally approved child restraining seat.
  3. Child safety seats, when used correctly, have been designed to be effective in preventing or reducing injuries from a crash.

Read the Health Department's 2001 Injury Prevention Plan

For more information, contact

Edith Munene
Public Health Specialist
Injury  and Violence Prevention Program
Vermont Department of Health
108 Cherry Street, PO Box 70
Burlington, VT 05402
802-651-1978
802-651-1634 FAX

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