Important Advances in Pediatric Injury Prevention

In children, injuries are the leading cause of death, a major source of disability, and the number one cause of death for children after the first year of life. The principles of injury prevention include surveillance, coalitions, communication, interventions, and evaluation. This article discusses a number of common pediatric injuries and their prevention strategies. This review article addresses key components of injury prevention and specifically addresses the following injuries: motor vehicle crashes (with a section on teen driver crashes, sleep-related injury, and death), poisoning, all-terrain vehicle crashes, drowning, and firearm injuries. Injuries are preventable occurrences that can result in devastating sequelae or death. We present an overview of the more common pediatric injuries along with injury-prevention strategies.