The Myths and Realities of Childhood Injury

Many people have beliefs about how injuries occur and how they can be prevented. Often, however, these beliefs reflect myths rather than reality. One common myth is that an injury is a random event— the result of chance, bad luck, or something else over which we have no control. This myth has had a long life, in part because the word accident perpetuates the notion that injuries occur in unpredictable ways. Today, injury prevention specialists have replaced accident with unintentional injury.
Injuries are either intentional (the result of a deliberate act, such as abuse or violence) or unintentional (the result of a person’s interacting with a product or condition in a particular environment). The reality is this: we can predict and, therefore, can prevent unintentional injury.

Another myth is that injury prevention is just a matter of common sense. Although common sense can help prevent injuries, effective injury prevention strategies are based on scientific principles. Many disciplines are involved in injury prevention, including epidemiology, hazard analysis, human factors analysis, engineering, biology, physics, biomechanics, and communication science.

Think of an unintentional injury as an event that occurs on a timeline. That is, some scenario— events, personal characteristics, products, or environmental conditions— sets the stage for an injury to be possible. If these events, characteristics, or conditions interact in a certain way, a predictable injury could occur. Once an injury has occurred, further events are set in motion.