According to the American Trauma Society, unintentional injury continues to be a leading cause of death and disability for all age groups throughout the U.S. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people are affected by injury or injury-related deaths.
Denver Public Health Institute states that: "Injuries are a significant health concern in Colorado, affecting everyone regardless of age, gender, race or economic status. Injuries may be classified as unintentional, intentional, or intent unknown. Unintentional injuries include motor vehicle crashes, and falls. Injuries classified as intentional include suicide, homicide and assault. In 2015, unintentional injuries were the third leading cause of death for Denver residents with a rate of 51.4 per 100,000 population (Colorado Vital Statistics, 2015). That same year, suicide was the ninth leading cause of death for Denver residents, a rate of 13.9 per 100,000 population (Colorado Vital Statistics, 2015)."
Fortunately, research shows through outreach and education, many traumatic injuries can be prevented. Denver Health Trauma Services is dedicated to providing adult and pediatric evidence-based programs and strategies to help reduce the number of unintentional traumatic injuries. Denver Health Trauma Services has prioritized developing and implementing prevention strategies based on the leading causes injuries seen by the Trauma team.
These include, but are not limited to, an evidence-based Older Adult Falls program, a Pediatric Window Safety Campaign, Safe Routes to Schools partnership with other city officials, collaboration with the Colorado Department of Transportation on media campaigns and messaging, coalition memberships (Safe Kids, Vision Zero, etc.), AIM: At Risk Youth Intervention & Mentoring, and more.
For more information regarding Denver Health’s Injury Prevention initiatives, please check out the Denver Public Health Injury Prevention webpage or contact our Injury Prevention Coordinator at trauma@dhha.org.
Additionally, fact sheets and information regarding injury prevention and safety tips can be found on the Denver Health Blog: