This issue of the Family & Community Health (32:2) deals with an increasingly important topic, unintentional injuries. Injuries are a major cause of death in the United States, and the scope of the problem is felt in similar, if not greater, magnitude in most countries around the world. The articles in this issue deal with a wide range of populations and interventions to reduce injuries in children, adolescents, and adults. A theme that runs through the articles is how to teach people to protect themselves from accidents and subsequent injuries, and in the case of children, the goal is to teach parents how to prevent their children from becoming injured. Given the pace of life in most nations, the goal of teaching people to avoid becoming injured is a significant one. As I watch people in both the United States and my current home, Hong Kong, which is a Special Administrative Region of China, I am able to observe that most adults are moving through their lives at a rapid pace. Many are multitasking, and the act of multitasking often increases the risk of accidents since attention is always divided between or among the activities.
Several of the articles in this issue discuss the need to learn about safety as well as the need to be consistent in practicing safe habits. Examples of these safe habits are for parents to be consistent and firm in their expectations that young children refrain from engaging in activities that put them at risk; for parents to be role models for safe behaviors and for students, teachers and other types of employees to consistently and with focused attention engage in such things as fire drills, evacuation procedures, and finding safety in the threat of an attack.
Practicing safe behaviors and maintaining a safe environment take time, attention, and, in some cases, resources and knowledge. Why do parents not take the time to install safety devices in their homes and cars? As pointed out in this issue, this lack of action may be due to not being able to afford the safety car seats or smoke detectors as well as from not knowing how to install them. Even if these obstacles are overcome, why do people forget to install batteries in the smoke detectors or carefully fasten children in car seats? Often it is because the adults are focusing on other priorities.
Likewise, why do adults take their children to the park and then spend their time while they are there reading messages on their personal digital assistants, talking on the telephone, or listening to their iPods? These are all illustrations of our multitasking, fast pace of life. However, it is important to remind ourselves that preventable accidents and injuries often happen fast. This is especially true with children. Young children are curious and fast, have a short attention span, and do not understand the concept of danger or the consequences of their actions. One minute a 4-year-old can be happily playing with a toy in the yard and within seconds be running across a busy street to see a butterfly, another child, or to chase a ball.
Similarly, the worldwide passion with multitasking while driving seems only to be a signal that unintentional injuries will increase unless regulations are imposed on drivers. It is becoming increasingly noted that the use of nonhandheld devices in the car for using a telephone is no less dangerous than holding a telephone. It is not so much the action of holding the device, but rather it is the distraction of the conversation, which takes the driver's attention away from the core function of driving.
I think that the timeliness of this issue is apparent. The authors have provided reviews that highlight the scope of the problem as well as described programs that can intervene through health and safety education to prevent injuries. I hope that each reader will reflect on your own personal safety practices and how you do and can continue to prevent unintentional injuries.
Jeanette Lancaster