Public health, emergency medicine, and the community interface

Physicians practicing in emergency care settings are likely to see the broadest spectrum of pediatric injuries in relation to other health care professionals. Whether it is a child in a motor vehicle collision requiring admission to an inpatient trauma service, or a young soccer player receiving a splint for a sprained ankle, emergency physicians are uniquely positioned to be involved in the development of systematic approaches to injury prevention. The natural interface with the community that occurs in the provision of emergency care necessarily mandates that injury prevention strategies incorporate community-based approaches and intervention models. This article examines the components of community-based strategies for injury prevention, and identifies the inherent implementation challenges through discussion of selected emergency medicine-led initiatives.