Intro to injury prevention

Summary

In this webinar, Allison Allari from the Injury Control Council of Western Australia discusses injury prevention and recovery efforts. The Council aims to reduce injury through evidence-informed programs and services. Key programs include 'Stay On Your Feet' to prevent falls in older adults, a trauma support service for road crash victims, and 'Know Injury' to educate practitioners. The webinar covers the nature of injuries, safety, and the public health approach to prevention, emphasizing the importance of a coordinated, multifaceted strategy to minimize injury impact in Western Australia.

Takeaways

• 📢 The Injury Control Council of Western Australia is a non-profit agency dedicated to injury prevention and supporting recovery.
• 🔍 Injuries are viewed as predictable and preventable events, not just random occurrences, and are addressed through coordinated, evidence-informed programs and services.
• 👣 The council operates three core programs: 'Stay on Your Feet' for fall-related injuries in older adults, 'Road Trauma Support Service' for those affected by road trauma, and 'No Injury' to enhance practitioners' capacity in injury prevention.
• 🤝 'No Injury' is built on the philosophy of learning and connecting, emphasizing the importance of knowledge sharing and networking among professionals in injury prevention.
• 🏥 Injury prevention is crucial as injuries can lead to long-term health issues, mental health problems, and significant economic and social costs.
• 📊 The 'injury pyramid' is a tool used to illustrate the full scope of injury, showing that while some injuries are easily measured, others are often unreported and harder to quantify.
• 🌐 Injuries are categorized by cause, distinguishing between intentional (like self-harm and violence) and unintentional injuries (like traffic accidents and poisonings).
• 🔑 Determinants of injury include a range of factors that can either increase or decrease the risk of injury, such as social, environmental, and behavioral factors.
• 🌍 Globally, injury is a leading cause of death and disability, accounting for 10% of global mortality with 5 million deaths per year.
• 🏥 In Australia, injuries are a significant cause of hospitalization and contribute to a chronic health issue, with indigenous Australians being twice as likely to be hospitalized for an injury.
• 🛑 The public health approach to injury prevention involves five stages: surveillance, determinants, interventions, implementation, and evaluation, which are iterative and integrated.

Q & A

What is the primary goal of the Injury Control Council of Western Australia?

The primary goal of the Injury Control Council of Western Australia is to prevent injury and support recovery, with a belief that injuries and violence can be predicted and prevented through coordinated, evidence-informed programs and services.

How does the Injury Control Council approach injury prevention and recovery?

The council approaches injury prevention and recovery by focusing on three core programs: 'Stay on Your Feet' for fall-related injuries in older adults, 'Road Trauma Support Service' offering free counseling for those affected by road trauma, and 'No Injury' to enhance the capacity of practitioners in delivering evidence-informed injury prevention activities.

What is the significance of the 'No Injury' program?

The 'No Injury' program is significant as it aims to enhance the capacity of practitioners such as community development officers to deliver evidence-informed injury prevention activities by providing information, resources, training, and networking opportunities.

What is the philosophy underpinning the 'No Injury' program?

The philosophy underpinning the 'No Injury' program is 'No Learn Connect', emphasizing the importance of knowing about different injury types and prevention practices, and connecting with other people and agencies to conduct injury prevention efforts across Western Australia.

How does the script define 'safety' in the context of injury prevention?

In the context of injury prevention, 'safety' is defined as a state where hazards and conditions leading to harm are controlled to preserve the health and well-being of individuals in the community, including the absence of intentional or unintentional injuries and a perception of being sheltered from danger.

What are the two dimensions of a safe state as mentioned in the script?

The two dimensions of a safe state are 'objective safety', which can be assessed by measuring the number of injuries or behavioral and environmental factual parameters, and 'subjective safety', which is a feeling of being out of danger or the safety of the population.

How are injuries classified according to their cause?

Injuries are classified according to their cause, with the most commonly used subcategories for unintentional injuries being falls, drownings, poisonings, and traffic accidents. Intentional injuries result from a person's purposeful action directed at themselves or others, such as intentional self-harm, interpersonal violence, and suicide.

What is the role of surveillance in the public health approach to injury prevention?

Surveillance is the first stage in the public health approach to injury prevention. It involves the collection, analysis, and interpretation of information to understand the context, identify priority injury issues, and describe the extent of the selected injury as a problem.

What are the three pillars of community safety mentioned in the script?

The three pillars of community safety mentioned in the script are injury prevention, crime prevention, and emergency response.

What is the significance of the injury pyramid as a tool in injury prevention?

The injury pyramid is a significant tool in injury prevention as it illustrates the full scope of injury, from those that are easiest and most accurate to measure at the top, to those that are often unreported and most difficult to measure at the bottom, highlighting the need to address all levels of injury.

How does the script describe the burden of injury in Australia and Western Australia?

The script describes the burden of injury in Australia as a leading cause of death and disability, responsible for a large number of hospitalizations and long-term consequences such as pressure on health services, mental health issues, and associated economic, social, and health care costs. In Western Australia, injury was the fourth highest cause of death and hospitalization between 2007 and 2011.