Unintentional injury is a leading cause of death for those between the ages of 1 and 44, and injuries account for approximately $671 billion in medical and work-loss costs.  These injuries include but are not limited to child maltreatment, domestic and intimate partner violence, drowning, elder abuse, falls, firearm safety, motor vehicle safety, opioid abuse, poisonings, sexual assault and rape, suicide and self-inflicted injuries, traumatic brain injury and youth violence.

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), representing nearly 3,000 local governmental health departments, has developed voluntary standards of injury and violence prevention (IVP) programs in collaboration with the Safe States Alliance.  The Safe States Alliance’s mission is to strengthen the practice of injury and violence prevention.
            These new standards are the first step towards providing guidance on the design and implementation of a model IVP program for Level I and Level II trauma center IVP programs. They are designed to support the IVP professional and hospital leadership with tangible ideas for expanding or strengthening programs at all levels, moving beyond minimum requirements.

“These standards present new opportunities to increase alignment and strengthen collaboration between trauma centers and public health,” said NACCHO Interim Executive Director and Chief Government Affairs Officer Laura Hanen, MPP. “The care of traumatically injured patients is a public health priority and our goal is to reduce injury-related disability and death. Our collaboration with the Safe States Alliance on the standards is a step toward preventing injury before it occurs.”

Dr. Glen Tinkoff, Chair, Trauma Prevention Coalition said, “In developing the Model Level I and II Trauma Center Injury and Violence Prevention Program, the Safe States Alliance and NACCHO have provided those of us invested in hospital-based injury prevention a template of essential components to guide our programs as we seek to effectively reduce the burden of injury on the communities we serve.” 

Safe States and NACCHO hosted a webinar (http://bit.ly/2jlvwsT) to share additional background on the development of the Standards and Indicators, as well as key findings. An expert panel of trauma injury and violence prevention professionals discussed its use and implications for the field.

The complete Standards and Indicators report available for all local health departments, hospital trauma centers, and partners can be accessed here.