About injuries
What is an injury?
An injury is defined as the physical damage to the body from a sudden exposure to energy at levels that exceed the normal human tolerance or as a result of the lack of one or more vital elements, such as oxygen.1 Injuries can be unintentional such as when someone is hurt from a fall or burn or in a traffic collision. Intentional injuries result from a deliberate act of harm to oneself or another such as suicide or murder.
Why pay attention to childhood injuries?
Unintentional injuries are a major public health problem and the burden falls disproportionately on the most vulnerable in our society. Unintentional injury is the number one cause of death for those between the ages of one to14 years of age. On average, close to 300 children aged 14 and under are killed, and another 21,000 are hospitalized for serious injuries every year in Canada.2 Many of those who survive are left with disabilities, both physical and emotional. For a child, this can mean a lifetime of living with the consequences of an injury. The stress on the child, their families and the health care system cannot be underestimated. The economic burden of unintentional injuries to children is substantial. Injuries to children cost Canadians 4 billion per year.1
Often perceived as ‘accidents’, injuries are not acts of fate; they don’t have to happen. The majority of injuries are predictable and preventable. Bumps and scrapes may be a part of childhood, but serious injury, resulting in death or lifelong disability is something no child and no family should have to bear.
Why are children at risk?
Although injuries are a concern for all ages, children are at particular risk because their abilities and behaviours differ from those of adults, and they live in an environment built for adults. Children are also at risk because of their quickly changing development. Children’s physical and mental abilities, level of dependence, type of activities and risk-taking behavior all change rapidly as they grow older. Children’s injuries are often closely related to their stage of development, the type of activity they are engaged in and the environment they live or play in at a particular time.1
What are the most common injuries to children in Canada?
- The three leading causes of injury-related deaths for children are drowning (pools, bathtubs, bath seats, boats, ponds, lakes and streams), motor vehicle collisions and suffocation.
- Falls are the major cause of injury-related hospitalizations for children. Falls can take place at home, school and on the playground.
Major causes of unintentional injury deaths among Canadian children ages 0-14 years, 2000-2005
Major causes of unintentional injury hospitalizations among Canadian children ages 0-14 years, 2000-2005
Preventing injuries requires a holistic approach
The prevention of injuries requires a population health framework that consists of four steps including defining the problem, identifying risk and protective factors, developing prevention strategies, and then implementing and evaluating these strategies.3 To be most effective, the prevention strategies must be comprehensive and multifaceted, encompassing a combination of elements including: education regarding behaviours and supervision, engineering of products, changes to the environment, and enforcement of safety regulations and standards. Examining the determinants of health enhances the understanding of both the risk and protective factors that contribute to injury. Examples of determinants that influence injuries include social support networks, education of parents or caregivers, social and physical environments, personal health practices and coping, healthy child development, culture and nature of health services.
1 World Health Organization. World report on child injury prevention: summary. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2008.
2 Public Health Agency of Canada. Injury and child maltreatment analysis of Statistics Canada mortality data and Canadian Institute for Health Information hospitalization data (2000-2005). Ottawa; 2009.
3 National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. CDC injury fact book. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2006.
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