Categories: CDC Injury Center, Home & Recreational Safety, Traumatic Brain Injury
May 14th, 2013 11:04 am ET -
Dr. Linda C. Degutis, DrPH, MSN
My grandmother lived with us when I was growing up, and I remember her being incredibly active in doing things around the house even as she approached her early 80s. This all changed one day when she slipped on a throw rug and fell, breaking her hip. We called an ambulance and went with her to the emergency department, where she was admitted to the hospital and later had surgery. Luckily, she did not have any complications from the surgery. Afterwards, she relied on a wheelchair to get around until she died 7 years later.
People may take for granted how easy it is for them to move around when they know every step and corner of their home. But that is not the case for many older adults, whose declining balance, coordination or vision may put them at significant risk of falling. The risk of falling increases with each decade of life. Injuries resulting from a fall, such as a hip fracture or head injury can affect an older adult’s health and take away their independence. Each year, one in every three adults age 65 or older falls, and more than 2 million are treated in emergency departments for injuries that result from falls.
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Categories: CDC Injury Center, Violence Prevention
April 29th, 2013 7:03 pm ET -
Every April, we observe National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. For our part, the CDC Injury Center’s year-round goal is to stop sexual violence before it begins.
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Categories: CDC Injury Center, Home & Recreational Safety, Motor Vehicle Safety, Traumatic Brain Injury, Violence Prevention
April 1st, 2013 9:10 am ET -
Injuries and violence kill 180,000 people each year. Motor vehicle crashes, falls, homicides, and other types of injury events kill more people in the first half of life than any other cause — including cancer, HIV, or the flu. And they cost more than $406 billion in medical care and lost productivity each year. If you yourself have not been seriously impacted by injury or violence, you probably know someone who has.
But what does that mean for public health? Where do injuries and violence fit into the plan to help people be able to live their lives to the fullest potential?
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Categories: CDC Injury Center, Traumatic Brain Injury
March 26th, 2013 4:53 pm ET -
Recovery from traumatic brain injury (TBI) doesn’t follow the same course for everyone. Doctors, nurses, physical or occupational therapists, and counselors are a few of the providers that may be available to help patients recover after their TBI. Even so, depending on the severity of their injury, TBI survivors—along with their caregivers and loved ones—may need to learn how to live with permanent effects of TBI.
TBI survivors, and their families and friends, have compelling stories to tell about how TBI has affected all of their lives.
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Categories: CDC Injury Center, Violence Prevention
March 19th, 2013 3:53 pm ET -
Abuse, neglect, and other traumatic experiences in childhood can shorten lives by 20 years and cost society almost $84 billion in lost productivity.
We call these Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and this infographic tells you the story of the dramatic links between ACEs, risky behavior and psychological issues. Safe, stable and nurturing relationships help prevent ACEs and ensure that children are able to live their lives to their fullest potential.
View the entire, interactive graphic on VetoViolence.org.
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Categories: CDC Injury Center, Violence Prevention
February 4th, 2013 3:13 pm ET -
Guest Blogger: Sandra Alexander
My mother was a teacher during the time when teachers made regular home visits. Growing up, I remember going with her on some of these visits, wondering about the different kinds of homes, behavior, and environments of some of my school peers.
Some kids in school bullied other kids, others showed up at school with injuries, and some did not show up at all. My mother, in her calm, steady way, would explain to me that families had different kinds of struggles and that kids’ behaviors reflected the kind of environments, relationships, and challenges they have in their life.
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Categories: Motor Vehicle Safety
October 19th, 2012 10:04 am ET -
Dr. Linda C. Degutis, DrPH, MSN
One of the most difficult things about working in the emergency department was making a phone call. Not just any phone call, but a call at midnight, or 2 a.m., a call to a parent who might be waiting for his teenager to return home from an evening out with friends. A call that would change a family forever. A call that no one ever wants to make. A call to say “I am calling about your son. He has been in a car crash and is in the emergency department. Can you come to the hospital? . . . Is there someone who can come with you?” It is the call that parents dread, and that we dreaded making. And, it is a call that doesn’t have to happen.
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Categories: CDC Injury Center, Violence Prevention
September 25th, 2012 9:42 am ET -
Guest Blogger: Helen Singer, MPH
This spring, after several of my close friends and family reached out to share the news that Mike Wallace, the legendary investigative journalist and “60 Minutes” anchor, had died, I sat down and had a good cry. It was as if I had lost a favorite uncle.
I know that it probably sounds strange that I was so personally affected by the passing of a famous newsman whose life was seemingly very different and removed from mine, but the fact is that Mike Wallace played a significant role in my decision to do what I do at CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention (DVP).
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Categories: CDC Injury Center, Home & Recreational Safety, Motor Vehicle Safety, Traumatic Brain Injury, Violence Prevention
September 11th, 2012 9:04 am ET -
Dr. Linda C. Degutis, DrPH, MSN
I still vividly remember my days working at a trauma center, treating victims of violence and traumatic events and working with communities to help prevent violence and injuries from happening in the first place.
I can clearly recall the faces and voices of children who came to the emergency department with injuries, and can still see the reactions of the parents who were told that their child had died from injuries; injuries that could have been prevented.
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Categories: CDC Injury Center, Home & Recreational Safety, Motor Vehicle Safety, Traumatic Brain Injury, Violence Prevention
September 5th, 2012 3:58 pm ET -
Guest Blogger: Wendy Holmes, MS
Back-to-school season seems to usher a school bus load of paper into our home. It starts with a cheerful postcard showing my child’s new teacher. Then comes the packet with the welcome letter, transportation form, lunch form, contact information form, medical information form, the Parent Teacher Association form, the…well, you get the idea.
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