Injuries

In the last few decades, injuries both intentional and unintentional have come to be treated not as random events but as preventable ones, as the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international bodies have become more concerned with the impact of injuries on mortality, disability, and disease. Though the global burden of injuries is not easily estimated, it is certainly significant. For instance, burns, drowning, and falls are among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity among children under 15 and are usually preventable. In industrialized countries like the United States, preventable traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 29. In the low- and middle-income countries of the western Pacific, traffic accidents and interpersonal violence (homicide) are the leading ...