Injury prevention: a nursing responsibility

Injury represents a major health care problem in the United States today. The rise in the number of violent crimes as well as unintentional injuries has touched Americans of all ages and in all socieconomic groups. Advances in prehospital care, acute care, and rehabilitation provided to trauma victims have helped to decrease the toll that trauma takes, but the most effective intervention is to prevent these deaths and injuries from ever occurring. Nurses are in key positions to educate the public on prevention practices, identify injury trends, influence the passage of prevention legislation, and help decrease the number of traumatic deaths and injuries occurring in our society.