Page 114 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2025

HEALTHY LIVING
WATCH YOUR STEP
UNINTENTIONAL INJURY AWARENESS
Road traffic injuries, falls, drowning, burns, self-harm, interpersonal violence, armed conflict, and other causes of unintentional and intentional injuries significantly contribute to disability and death throughout your life, particularly for men. You can prevent most injuries through educational, environmental, and policy interventions that are tailored to populations at risk of specific types of injuries.
An injury is physical harm to your body that is caused by an external force. Mild injuries may lead to a few days or weeks of pain and limit your activities. On the other hand, moderate and severe trauma can result
in long-term disabilities or even death. According
to recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO), about one in 13 deaths worldwide each year is due to an injury.
Injuries are divided into two main categories: unintentional and intentional. An unintentional injury is an unplanned injury that you might experience very quickly. An accident is an adverse event that happens by chance. While most unintentional injuries seem like inescapable accidents, you can prevent them
with proper safety measures. On the other hand, an intentional injury is a purposefully inflicted physical trauma.
The impairment caused by injuries may be more severe and lasting when you do not receive emergency care immediately after an injury and lack access to advanced medical, surgical, and rehabilitation services.
According to data published by the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention, males have higher rates of unintentional and intentional injury incidence and mortality compared to females. The overall rate of new injuries is highest in early adulthood and late adulthood.
For females, the injury incidence rate remains steady across most age groups before increasing in old age. While you may find that the overall death rate from injuries is highest among older adults, the percentage of deaths within an age group or other population attributable to injuries is most significant among adolescents and young adults.
This highlights the need for more injury prevention interventions that are specifically targeted toward males, young adults, and older adults. Injury prevention interventions must be tailored to the types of injuries most likely to affect your population.
story by Dr. Nickie Harris-Ray
114 | October 2025 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living