Critical Adolescent Health Issues - Unintentional Injury | HOME |
Approximately 67% of all deaths among children and adolescents are from injury-related causes, including motor vehicle insjureis, homicde, suicides and other unintentional injuries. The top causes of death to adolescents are all related to intentional and unintentional injury -- motor vehicle crashes, homicide, and suicide. (Source: CDC)
Injuries are not accidents. They can be prevented by changing the environment, individual behaviors, products, policies, and social norms.
Data on Adolescent Unintentional Injury
Adolescent (10-19) deaths due to motor vehicle crashes (2004): 6,035
Rarely or never wore a seat belt (when riding in a care driven by someone else): 11.1%
Rode with a driver who had been drkingk alcohol: 29.1%
Data source: 2007 YRBS, CDC
Relevant AAP Policies Statements and Clinical Reports
The Teen Driver
Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention and Committee on Adolescence
Pediatrics 2006; 118: 2570-2581.
Office-based Counseling for Unintentional Injury Prevention
Gardner, HG. And the Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention
Pediatrics, Vol. 119, No. 1, January 2007, pp 202-206
A full list of all the Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention (COIPP) statements (firearms, fireworks, in-line skates, ATVs, etc.) is available at: http://www.aap.org/sections/ipp/
Other AAP Resources
The AAP has a central Web page for all injury, violence and poison prevention activities, which includes links to upcoming events, educational activities, policy statements, publications, and national programs
Teen Driver - Guidelines for Parents
This is a parent handout published by the AAP for providers to handout. The AAP Bookstore has a collection of handouts on a number of adolescent health and safety issues.
Connected Kids provides pediatricians with guidance and patient-oriented materials to take an asset-based approach to violence prevention from birth through 21 years of age. The program includes 21 Connected Kids handouts for parents and patients.
Links to Additional Adolescent Unintentional Injury Resources
The other critical adolescent health issues include:
Sexual Health, Violence, Chronic Disease, Mortality, and Mental Health and Substance Abuse
