Preventing unintentional injuries in Indigenous children and youth in Canada

William H. Abelson, Anna Banerji, Lola T. Baydala, Radha Jetty, Heide M. Schroter, Jill M. Starkes, Sam K. Wong, Simon Brascoupé, Elizabeth Ford, Carolyn Harrison, Kathy Langlois, Lisa Monkman, Kelly R. Moore, Melanie Morningstar, Eduardo Vides, Cathy Winters, James Irvine, Kent D. Saylor

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    19 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death in Canadian Indigenous children and youth, occurring at rates three to four times the national average. Death and disabling injuries not only devastate families and communities but take a heavy toll on health care resources. The lack of statistics, ongoing surveillance or injury prevention programs for Indigenous children and adolescents further compound human and health care costs. Indigenous communities are heterogeneous culturally, in terms of access to resources, and even as to risks and patterns of injury. Yet in general, they are far more likely to be poor, to have substandard housing and to have difficulty accessing health care, factors which increase the risk and impact of injury. There are urgent needs for injury surveillance, research, capacity-building, knowledge dissemination, as well as for injury prevention programs that focus on Indigenous populations. Effective injury prevention would involve multidisciplinary, collaborative and sustainable approaches based on best practices while being culturally and linguistically specific and sensitive.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)393-394
    Number of pages2
    JournalPaediatrics and Child Health (Canada)
    Volume17
    Issue number7
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

    Keywords

    • Death
    • Determinants of health
    • Disability
    • Indigenous
    • Injury
    • Injury prevention
    • Surveillance

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