Regular readers of the Injury Prevention blog will be quite familiar with my obsession for getting our rigorous research translated into policy and practice. I regularly hear from individuals in industry and government, not to mention the general community, that researchers are great at communicating with other researchers, and not so great at communicating with ‘normal people’. Upon hearing this […]
Latest articles
Motorcycle crashes decline: thank the weather
This is verbatim from FairWarning, increasingly one of my favourite and most respected go-to sites: Preliminary figures show U.S. motorcycle fatalities falling 7 percent in 2013 as bad weather kept riders off the road. A report by the Governors Highway Safety Association projects that the number of motorcyclists killed last year will total 4,610, down […]
Wealth begets longevity (more so for some than others!)
An article in the Wall Street Journal, featured recently in Mother Jones, reminds us that the richer you are, the longer you’ll live. And that the gap is widening, particularly among women. The article notes that a man born in 1940 would be mid-career in 1980 and if his income was in the top 10% […]
Poorly-fitted child seats an injury waiting to happen
Thinking about the recalls yesterday, particularly those related to child seats, reminded me of a recent story I read recently. A 2013 survey of over 10,000 child seats in England, Wales and Scotland revealed that 60% of the child seats were poorly-fitted (see http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/470156/Millions-of-infants-at-risk-60-per-cent-of-all-child-seats-not-fitted-safely). One poorly-fitted child seat is a problem, let alone 6,000 in […]
Recalls on the radar
Over the past few months I have noticed an abundance of recalls for various products, including mass recalls after ignition switch defects in General Motors cars. As noted on their website (http://www.gmignitionupdate.com/faq.html), “There is a risk, under certain conditions, that your ignition switch may move out of the “run” position, resulting in a partial loss of […]
American trauma surgeons on gun control
I think going to this site is well worth the visit. It presents the position of American trauma surgeons with respect to gun control issues. It is a healthy antidote to the bizarre arguments that also appear on the Medscape site suggesting that doctors should NOT provide advice about gun control in part because they […]
Talking about Suicides
The Board of the American Association of Suicidology recently voted to create a new division to represent and recognize individuals who have attempted suicide and survived. This move seems to be representative of the beginning of a shift in how those involved in suicide prevention view openly talking about and learning from those who have […]
The most popular suicide location in the world
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge looks poised to get a safety net to prevent suicides, something that various people and organizations have been requesting for over 60 years. Since the Bridge was first opened in 1937 approximately 1,600 people have committed suicide by jumping off the bridge, more than any other location in the world. […]
Balcony collapse – a potential (unseen?) threat to users of all ages
Unfortunately here in Australia we have had a number of collapses of the family home balcony, and last month the casualty was a 3 month old baby boy who had been cradled in his mother’s arms moments before the fateful fall (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/death-of-baby-in-niagara-park-balcony-collapse-prompts-building-safety-warning/story-fngr8h0p-1226857651952). Such balcony collapses are by no means unique events here in Australia (e.g., http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/balcony-collapse-injures-five-people-at-nowra-in-nsw/story-e6frg6nf-1226743237328; […]
Low speed vehicle run-over incidents remain in the spotlight
PubMed abounds with articles exploring the epidemiology of low speed vehicle run-overs (e.g., doi: 10.1136/ip.2010.030304; 10.1111/jpc.12188; 10.1111/wvn.12014; 10.1136/injuryprev-2013-040932; 10.1186/1471-2458-14-245; 10.1186/1471-2458-14-245). The devastating consequences of low speed vehicle run-over incidents has led to a plethora of suggested intervention and ‘tips’ for parents and others interested in child and infant injury prevention (for example, http://www.kidsafewa.com.au/drivewaysafety.html; http://www.safekids.org.nz/index.php/page/driveway-run-over-kit-locations; http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/child-safety-book/child-driveway-accidents.html). In addition, […]