The potential of community diagnosis as a tool in planning an intervention programme aimed at preventing injuries

Injuries due to accidents are a serious public health problem in Sweden as in the rest of the world. In Sweden injuries are the most frequent cause of death among people under the age of 50. More than 75% of all injuries occur in the home or surrounding area. Most accidents strike children, teenagers, and the elderly. Many accidents can be avoided. Prevention is therefore important. A community intervention programme for the prevention of accidents has been developed in the municipality of Sollentuna in Stockholm County. During the planning phase, a basic analysis of the local community was found to be useful, i.e. a Community Diagnosis, which includes three stages: description, analysis, and a health action programme. This report concentrates on the first two stages. To make a community diagnosis, some basic data are needed. In this report the relevance of the existing registers to the Community Diagnosis model is discussed. It is also shown how the Community Diagnosis model helped in the planning phase: the community profile demonstrated whom the prevention should be aimed at, the health profile emphasized the importance of accident prevention, the health risk profile showed where to change the environment, and last, the organizational profile elucidated how preventive work should be organized.