The prevention of violent spinal cord injuries

Interpersonal violence has been defined by the USPHS as a national critical health care problem. Of the 10,000 to 12,000 new spinal cord injuries in the United States each year, about a 1,000 will be caused by gunshot wounds. Violence is identified as part of our heritage, inherent in our entertainment and, sadly, part of our everyday life. Community response to these intentional injuries has indicated they will no longer be ignored. Conventional prevention efforts are often not relevant. Violence prevention efforts require the focus to be upon the critical precipitating factors. The development of school, community and youth-based violence-specific injury prevention programs are essential.