Pediatric injury control: strategies for the nurse practitioner

This year, 8,000 children under age 15 years will die of unintentional injuries and 50,000 will become permanently disabled. The financial cost of pediatric trauma to society will reach approximately $14 billion. The nurse practitioner (NP) is in a key position to reduce the number and extent of injuries by participating in comprehensive injury control measures including engineering devices, education, enactment, enforcement, and evaluation. The most convenient and productive strategy for the NP is parent anticipatory guidance. This article will alert the practitioner to specific predispositions children have towards injuries. Age-related injury prevention information will be discussed for integration into primary care visits.