What is the…Injury Prevention Program?

The Injury Prevention Program is a systematic effort to reduce deaths and injuries from intentional and unintentional events such as motor vehicle crashes, poisoning, falls, drowning, shooting, burns, assault, and self harm. The program provides focus, works to reduce duplication of effort and seeks to improve the use of existing resources. The Injury Prevention Program is responsible for

1. Identifying injury problems and the specific needs for injury prevention programs, policies and services within the state
2. Keeping abreast of developments within the field of injury prevention and sharing with others
3. Understanding where injury prevention fits into what other agencies are doing and serving as a coordinating force that brings different players to the table
4. Building a solid constituency for injury prevention activities within the state. Arizona’s Injury Prevention Program is funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

 Why is this program needed?

Arizona’s injury statistics exceed the national average. In response, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) entered into a cooperative agreement with the CDC in September 2000 to develop a systematic injury surveillance and control process.

ADHS formed an internal work group with representatives from the divisions of Public Health Services, Assurance and Licensure Services, and Behavioral Health Services. The work group, with input from leaders in the field of injury control met to develop the Arizona Injury Surveillance and Prevention Plan, 2002-2005 and 2006-2010. Along with development of the plan, the Injury Prevention Advisory Council provides recommendations to ADHS on injury priorities, reviews progress in implementation, assists in problem solving, participates in revision and evaluation of the plan, and acts as a liaison between external agencies and ADHS.

The Arizona Injury Surveillance and Prevention Plan, 2006-2010 establishes objectives and proposes strategic actions to avoid injury. The actions proposed are based on the knowledge that many seemingly accidental injuries could have been prevented by taking precautions, avoiding unnecessary risks, and/or enacting and enforcing laws such as drunk driving laws or seatbelt laws. 

What are the goals of the program?

• To enhance the development of the ADHS Injury Prevention and Control Program to become a proactive and influential focus for reducing injury in Arizona
• To strengthen the influence of the Injury Prevention Advisory Council
• To continue to develop a comprehensive, integrated injury surveillance system that provides population based data for planning, implementation, and evaluation of efforts statewide
• To implement and evaluate the strategic actions formulated in the Arizona Injury Surveillance and Prevention Plan, 2006-2010

What has the program achieved?

• Publication of Arizona Injury Surveillance and Prevention Plan, 2006-2010
  
• Appointed an external Injury Prevention Advisory Council
• Developed an Internal Injury Prevention Work Group
  
• Produced an annual inventory of injury-related programs in ADHS
• Developed liaisons with community coalitions and councils
  
  

Injury Prevention Advisory Council - View the Agenda for the February 24th, 2010 meeting. This meeting is open to anyone with an interest in injury prevention.

Need more information?

Data on injuries is updated annually and can be found on the ADHS Vital Records web site at:
http://www.azdhs.gov/vitalrcd/index.htm

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