Drugs, guns and cars: how far we have come to improve safety in the United States; yet we still have far to go.
Significant breakthroughs in the field of injury prevention and childhood safety have occurred during the past half-century. For example, the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 and the institution of child passenger safety laws are responsible for a significant reduction in injuries among children and adolescents. This review will focus on the following three topics because of their significant contribution to pediatric injury morbidity, especially among adolescents, and their promise for further effective prevention research. Opioid overdoses by adolescents and young adults are increasing; however, the use of naloxone by bystanders represents a life-saving development in opioid overdose prevention that deserves further investigation. Youth firearm injury remains a major cause of death and disability in adolescents. Despite a lack of robust injury prevention research on the topic, the development of novel approaches to access and examine firearm injury data is leading to exploration of public health approaches to reduce these injuries. Finally, despite legislative and educational efforts surrounding child passenger safety and graduated driver license laws, motor vehicle crashes are still a leading cause of injury for both children and adolescents; however, research on these laws holds the opportunity for significant reduction in injuries. Focused efforts to reduce unintentional injuries from opiate overdoses, firearms and motor vehicle crashes may produce a breakthrough in the field of injury prevention similar to that of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act.
Department of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.|Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.|Department of Injury Prevention, Community Outreach and Research, Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut.|Injury Free Coalition for Kids of New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut.
James
J
Dodington
Department of Injury Prevention, Community Outreach and Research, Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut.|Injury Free Coalition for Kids of New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut.
Pina
P
Violano
Department of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.|Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Carl R
CR
Baum
Department of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.|Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.|Department of Injury Prevention, Community Outreach and Research, Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut.|Injury Free Coalition for Kids of New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut.
Kirsten
K
Bechtel
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D062787:Drug Overdose; D005260:Female; D005389:Firearms; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012449:Safety; D014481:United States; D014754:Violence; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D055815:Young Adult
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid
Pediatrics. 2011 Apr;127(4):e1050-66
21422094
Int J Drug Policy. 2014 Jan;25(1):166-70
23773683
Accid Anal Prev. 2010 Jul;42(4):1184-8
20441829
Med Lett Drugs Ther. 2016 Jan 4;58(1485):1-2
26714239
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014 Feb 7;63(5):113-8
24500292
Int J Drug Policy. 2014 May;25(3):569-74
24412006
Arch Dis Child. 2014 Apr;99(4):331-5
24336468
Pediatrics. 1982 Mar;69(3):363-70
7063294
Med Lett Drugs Ther. 2014 Mar 17;56(1438):21-2
24662159
BMC Public Health. 2014 Apr 01;14:297
24684801
Am J Med. 2016 Mar;129(3):266-73
26551975
Pediatrics. 2011 Apr;127(4):788-93
21422088
J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2015 Jan-Feb;3(1):57-62
25577619
Traffic Inj Prev. 2003 Mar;4(1):5-8
14522655
Int J Drug Policy. 2015 Jan;26(1):84-91
25151334
Soc Sci Med. 2014 Jan;100:30-7
24444836
JAMA. 2016 Apr 26;315(16):1689-91
27050067
JAMA. 2013 Feb 13;309(6):551-2
23295618
Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. 2014 Sep 19;10(1):49
25264449
Accid Anal Prev. 2005 Nov;37(6):973-82
15921652
J Trauma. 2011 Jan;70(1):238-43
20571454
Am J Prev Med. 2009 Jul;37(1):68-71
19524145
Pediatrics. 2012 Dec;130(6):996-1002
23129070
Pediatrics. 2014 Feb;133(2):219-25
24470651
Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2014 Dec 15;71(24):2129-35
25465584
Yale J Biol Med. 2015 Sep 03;88(3):235-45
26339206
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2013 Aug 1;131(3):263-70
23294765
N Engl J Med. 2013 May 23;368(21):2033-5
23581254
JAMA. 2011 Sep 14;306(10):1142-3
21917586