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What is Injury Prevention?

Injuries are a serious public health concern in South Carolina (SC) and should be considered both avoidable and preventable. In 2021, there were 6,150 overall injury deaths, 25,521 overall injury hospitalizations, and 420,806 overall injury emergency department visits. 

The Statewide Injury Prevention Program focuses on both intentional and unintentional injuries for all age and demographic groups. The injury data collected helps define the leading causes of injury morbidity and mortality, and the populations or behaviors associated with the greatest risk of injury. Some of the unintentional injuries that people request information about include unintentional overdose (unintentional poisoning), motor vehicle crashes, drowning, and unintentional falls. 

Intentional injuries include those that involve an individual inflicting harm or violence on oneself or another person. Assault, self-harm, homicide and suicide are all types of intentional injuries. An individual’s risk of injury and violence may be impacted by social, personal, economic, and environmental contributors or protectors. Understanding the social determinants of health and identifying shared risk and protective factors is the key to improving health and safety across the lifespan. 

Developing injury prevention services and interventions is structured around using injury surveillance data, building community partnerships to identify and respond to existing and emerging injury threats, and implementing evidence-based public health actions. 

SCVDRS 2021 Homicide graphic
Read the SCVDRS 2021 homicide report

Injury Data and Surveillance

The Injury, Tobacco, and Substance Use Prevention Section (ISTUPS) utilizes tools to aggregate data, assist with data analysis, and support statewide injury and substance use prevention programs. IST UPS employs a team of injury epidemiologists to assist with complex injury surveillance questions and respond to data requests. Please send questions and data requests by email to injury@dph.sc.gov.

Focus Areas

SCVDRS 2021 suicide circumstance graphic
Read the SCVDRS 2021 suicide report

Partnerships and Public Health Actions

DPH has a strong network of statewide prevention partners that are tasked with identifying important conditions and patterns that contribute to injury and violence at the community level. Through the work of various community coalitions, state advisory councils, and local organizations, the network identifies those individuals most affected by injury, strives to better understand their needs, and determines solutions that will best support interventions for long-term societal and community-level change. Injury prevention occurs at home, at play, and on the way. Prevention at the community level involves education, assessment, and in many ways, promoting change to the environment in which injuries occur.

Examples include:

  • Promoting the use of seat belts and properly installing child car seats.
  • Informing school programs about preventing traumatic brain injuries and wearing helmets.
  • Installing traffic signals at intersections.
  • Providing information to nurses about choking hazards and unintentional poisoning.
  • Requiring certain products to be fire safe.
  • Installing fences around pools, wearing life jackets, and offering swim lessons.
  • Hosting a defensive driving or CarFit event.

Information and Resources

DPH

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