2025 has arrived! Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions? Have you considered making your home and workplace a safer place to live, play and work in ways that will avoid harm?
We all need to be aware of—and see—the risks in our everyday lives as we go about our daily activities while at home, taking part in recreational activities, travelling, as well as in the workplace.
DID YOU KNOW?
According to Statistics Canada, over 20,500 people lost their lives to unintentional injuries in 2023.
In fact, injuries continue to be the leading cause of death for Canadians under the age of 45, surpassing conditions such as cancer and heart disease. The economic ramifications are equally staggering, with the estimated annual burden of injury in Canada reaching 29.4 billion.
No one should ever have to experience a life altering or life ending injury, which could have been prevented.
PREVENTABLE INJURIES & DEATHS
The stark reality is that people between the ages of one to 44 years are more likely to die from a preventable injury—such as a fall, motor vehicle collision, or poisoning—than anything else. Incidents such as these occur daily, often unnoticed by society at large but profoundly impacting the families and friends of the victims who are left to grieve.
INJURY DEATHS—RARELY URGENTLY ADDRESSED
We as a society, rarely urgently address the cause of an injury death, unless many people die at once, such as in a plane crash. But these massive unfortunate events are rare, and account for a tiny portion of those whose lives are cut short by an injury death.
INJURIES—WHY DON’T WE TALK ABOUT IT?
As many injury prevention advocates will point out, we don’t talk about injuries because, when someone unfortunately dies from an injury—from a fall, poisoning, motor vehicle collision, drowning, or a house fire—it rarely registers as a point of public concern. Most of the time, when people die from an injury, it’s in one’s, twos and threes. Despite the urgency of this issue, discussions surrounding injury-related fatalities are often overshadowed by mass casualty events, which garner widespread attention. Yet, the silent toll of individual injuries continues to affect families, friends and even communities on a daily basis.
ADDRESSING PREVENTABLE INJURIES & INJURY DEATHS
Actions going forward will need to consist of amplifying education and awareness surrounding this significant public health concern. Additionally, focus needs to be directed to raising awareness to empower and energize people to understand the preventability of injuries.
In a future column, I will share information about Canada’s convenor (lead) for injury prevention, as well as insights into fostering a “public health” mindset towards injury prevention throughout our vast country.
Safety—it starts with you folks.
