Injury prevention and control: reflections on the state and the direction of the field

Abstract

Objective: To provide an assessment of the contours of the injury field today and to raise questions about our future direction.

Material and methods: We classified the self-reported activities of injury centers, assessed trends in injury-related publications in peer review journals, and compared data on current funding levels.

Results: The 47 identified centers are more likely to focus on unintentional injuries and on prevention than on intentional injuries, biomechanics, acute care or rehabilitation. Injury-related publications have doubled over the past decade, yet remained dwarfed by those on other diseases. Funding for injury prevention remains incommensurate with the burden of injury. Within the injury field itself, publications and funding are not commensurate with the burden imposed by particular injuries.

Conclusion: Our responsibilities as injury prevention professionals will increase not only because of the projected increase in the global burden of injury but also because of our expanded conceptualization of what the scope of injury prevention should be. The lack of clarity we project about the substantive areas of our expertise and the incommensurate funding for our efforts relative to their toll on global health represent challenges to our field's coherence and ultimate effectiveness.