EDITORIAL
Editor’s foreword Joseph J. Tepas III, MD Jacksonville, Florida
T
he 2014 supplement of the proceedings of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids again illustrates the important work being focused on improving control of the disease of childhood injury. The coalition remains committed to its mission of defining and determining prevention programs that work. These reports represent highlights of the 18th annual meeting of this unique multispecialty organization and clearly demonstrate that effective prevention, while universally recognized as the only truly effective ‘‘vaccine’’ against injury, is a multifaceted, broadly based effort that crosses every part of our population. The first four reports address issues of education and understanding. Can a computer in the emergency department effectively convey prevention education? With all the attention of sportsrelated injuries, especially concussions, do parents, trainers, or even the young athletes themselves really understand the importance of not getting their bell rung? The next three articles deal with the worst part of childhood injury: intentional violence. Riese et al. demonstrate that most surgical residents really do not understand how to deal with the tragedy of youth violence and are not comfortable confronting it with prevention strategies. The magnitude of this deficit is well illustrated in the report of ultimate youth violence, suicide, and a demonstration by Anderson et al. that the problem of intentional injury may vary somewhat across urban and rural environments but pervades every part of our social fabric. The common denominator is poverty and ignorance, both of which demand redress with better education and societal support. Finally, gun violence, which many see as the greatest strain on our national conscience, remains the quintessential prevention challenge. Violano et al. provide a thought-provoking comparison of the participants in gun buyback programs in three separate cities and clearly define a need to refocus these efforts. Hendry et al. report a 6-year perspective of gunshot injuries in children treated in an urban safety net hospital. The findings are pretty much in concert with other recent surveys except for the very disturbing observation that 5-year-olds to 9-year-olds were six times more likely to have multiple injury sites compared with the group of 10-year-olds to 14-year-olds. It would seem that this is the face of our violent urban neighborhoods staring back at us. It is not a pretty picture, but then, neither is anything else that mercilessly robs us of our greatest and most beloved resource. As ugly as they are, all of the findings described in these reports are factors that we must better understand and more effectively control if we are ever to make any reasonable progress in guaranteeing the safe and nurturing environment that should be the birthright of all of our world’s children.
From the Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville, Florida. Address for reprints: Joseph J. Tepas, MD, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Florida Health Science Center, 653 West 8th St, Jacksonville, FL 32209; email: [email protected]fl.edu. DOI: 10.1097/TA.0000000000000388
J Trauma Acute Care Surg Volume 77, Number 3, Supplement 1
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
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Editor’s foreword Joseph J. Tepas III, MD Jacksonville, Florida
T
he 2014 supplement of the proceedings of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids again illustrates the important work being focused on improving control of the disease of childhood injury. The coalition remains committed to its mission of defining and determining prevention programs that work. These reports represent highlights of the 18th annual meeting of this unique multispecialty organization and clearly demonstrate that effective prevention, while universally recognized as the only truly effective ‘‘vaccine’’ against injury, is a multifaceted, broadly based effort that crosses every part of our population. The first four reports address issues of education and understanding. Can a computer in the emergency department effectively convey prevention education? With all the attention of sportsrelated injuries, especially concussions, do parents, trainers, or even the young athletes themselves really understand the importance of not getting their bell rung? The next three articles deal with the worst part of childhood injury: intentional violence. Riese et al. demonstrate that most surgical residents really do not understand how to deal with the tragedy of youth violence and are not comfortable confronting it with prevention strategies. The magnitude of this deficit is well illustrated in the report of ultimate youth violence, suicide, and a demonstration by Anderson et al. that the problem of intentional injury may vary somewhat across urban and rural environments but pervades every part of our social fabric. The common denominator is poverty and ignorance, both of which demand redress with better education and societal support. Finally, gun violence, which many see as the greatest strain on our national conscience, remains the quintessential prevention challenge. Violano et al. provide a thought-provoking comparison of the participants in gun buyback programs in three separate cities and clearly define a need to refocus these efforts. Hendry et al. report a 6-year perspective of gunshot injuries in children treated in an urban safety net hospital. The findings are pretty much in concert with other recent surveys except for the very disturbing observation that 5-year-olds to 9-year-olds were six times more likely to have multiple injury sites compared with the group of 10-year-olds to 14-year-olds. It would seem that this is the face of our violent urban neighborhoods staring back at us. It is not a pretty picture, but then, neither is anything else that mercilessly robs us of our greatest and most beloved resource. As ugly as they are, all of the findings described in these reports are factors that we must better understand and more effectively control if we are ever to make any reasonable progress in guaranteeing the safe and nurturing environment that should be the birthright of all of our world’s children.
From the Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville, Florida. Address for reprints: Joseph J. Tepas, MD, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Florida Health Science Center, 653 West 8th St, Jacksonville, FL 32209; email: [email protected]fl.edu. DOI: 10.1097/TA.0000000000000388
J Trauma Acute Care Surg Volume 77, Number 3, Supplement 1
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
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