about injury prevention week
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Introduction and Background
Injuries due to any cause are an increasing and also neglected worldwide crisis1, which require a sustained and effective prevention program to reduce the burden. Injuries result in varied and most devastating health problems and require one of the most complex and expensive treatment protocols. Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) are amongst the most devastating ailment that can afflict mankind2. Head injury is the leading cause of death for children, teens and young adults3. Injuries are increasingly being acknowledged as worldwide health priorities. Most of the injuries resulting in musculoskeletal injury, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and SCI are preventable as well4. The consequences of injuries require that all stakeholders begin thinking about primary prevention. Efforts are often focused on care and cure, but evidence-based prevention should have a greater role. Primary prevention efforts can offer significant cost benefits, and efforts to change behavior and improve safety can and should be emphasized5.
Another important aspect of injury is the ‘back pain’. Increase length in sitting time, use of technology with improper posture, carrying of heavy school bags, improper activities including sports, all result in back pain6. Back pain can be further precipitated by improper infrastructure including school and office furniture, quality of equipments and training. The increase in incidence of musculoskeletal injury, TBI, SCI and backpain amongst children is expected to augment further with increase in population growth, vehicles, and use of technology.
Primary prevention efforts can offer significant cost benefits, and efforts to change behavior and improve safety can and should be emphasized5. Studies had estimate the cost of injuries as between 0.29% and 0.69% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India7. There are reports that prevention programs are extremely cost-effective; nearly $3 billion dollars in health care costs could be saved in 2 years by a $10 investment per person in prevention programs. That savings jumps to $16 billion dollars in 5 years and close to $18 billion within 10 to 20 years8. Community-based prevention programs are a cheaper alternative compared to emergency care to save a patient’s life. The Christopher Reeve Foundation, a leading organization in prevention and treatment in SCI, has projected that the United States could save an estimated $400 billion dollars by providing SCI-based preventive and therapeutic interventions9. Back School programs are strongly supported by the international bodies, including WHO, for promoting health amongst school population6. Hence it is imperative that prevention of injury should be an important point of focus.
"National Days or Week" are celebrated to mark important aspects of human life and history. Injury Prevention Week is planned from 1st to 7th September every year by ASSI and associated Societies, with the intention of increasing awareness and training protocols for preventing injuries amongst general public. It is presumed that the awareness would promote safer techniques in everyday activities resulting in reduced impact of injuries to Indian population.
Most injuries can be prevented. The common saying is, ‘Prevention is better than cure. But in fact, where an injury is concerned, Prevention is cure.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the Injury Prevention Week is to prevent injury through education, research and advocacy. The goal of the program is to improve the health of the individual by preventing injury, illnesses and death and hence improving the quality of life. The program will also help decrease prevalence of back pain; improve back posture and train for safe activities in the individual. The improvement in pain and discomfort would help in overall efficacy and productivity of an individual. The focus would be to reach out to people in community through educational programs based on the evidence based strategies.
