Report: EDs treated 31 million injuries in 2000
According to a new report, approximately 31 million patients (one out of every 10 patients seen in the ED) in the United States were treated in EDs for nonfatal injuries in 2000.1 Data were collected from EDs nationwide, using the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. The system is a joint effort between CPSC and the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"One of the most disturbing and discouraging aspects of ED nursing is bearing witness to needless injury and death," says Kathleen A. Loeffler, RNC, research nurse at Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center in Seattle.
Here are ways to improve your injury-prevention efforts in your ED:
• Find a severe, frequent, fixable problem. Loeffler recommends focusing your energy and resources on injuries that cause significant trauma or disability, occur on a regular basis, and have known "fixes." She suggests focusing on the following five injuries, all of which have clear-cut strategies for prevention:
— Head injuries: Encourage patients to wear bicycle, motorcycle, sport, and equestrian helmets. Provide protective devices such as bicycle helmets.
— Firearm injuries: Work with suppliers to offer discount coupons for gunlock boxes.
— Motor vehicle crashes: Ask if patients wear seatbelts, provide education about traffic safety, provide child safety seats.
— Burns: Instruct patients to set water heaters at 120 degrees or less, provide patients with child-resistant cigarette lighters, advise patients to turn pot handles in toward stove.
— Falls: Advise patients to wear proper footwear, use consistent lighting, and install handrails on stairs. (For more information, see "Give parents facts about car safety," ED Nursing, September 2001, p. 155, and "Ways to prevent falls in older patients," in ED Nursing, February 2002, p. 51.)
• Check with your trauma registry or hospital discharge ICD-9-CM codes. Find out exactly what is hurting or killing your patient population, advises Loeffler. She points to the CPSC/CDC report, which showed that majority of unintentional injury is caused by motor vehicle-related trauma, falls, being struck by or against something, overexertion, and cut/piercing/stab wounds. Patterns of trauma may be subject to geographical or seasonal variables, adds Loeffler.
• Distribute literature to patients and families in your ED waiting room. Many organizations offer educational videos and other materials for free or reduced cost, says Loeffler. However, you’ll need to make sure that all educational materials are up to date, culturally sensitive, and translated into the languages suitable for your patient population, she says.
• Make sure education is age-appropriate. Young children simply cannot judge the speed and distance of an oncoming vehicle, notes Loeffler. "Thus, pedestrian safety programs designed for very young ages are of limited value," she says. The same seems to be true for gun-safety efforts, she adds. "The audience must be developmentally ready for the information presented," she says.
Reference
1. Office of Statistics and Programming, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC. National Estimates of Nonfatal Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments —- United States, 2000. MMWR 2001: 50; 340-346.
Source and resource
For more information on injury prevention, contact:
• Kathleen A. Loeffler, RNC, Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, 325 Ninth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104-2499. Telephone: (206) 521-1520. Fax: (206) 521-1562.
A complete copy of the report National Estimates of Nonfatal Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments can be downloaded free of charge at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site (www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ mm5017a4.htm) Or, paper copies can be obtained free of charge by contacting: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Office of Statistics and Programming, 4770 Buford Highway, N.E., MS K-59, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724. Telephone: (770) 488-4656.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content