These costs include direct medical care and rehabilitation costs as well as lost wages of the individual and productivity losses to the nation. The Public Health Approach Injury is a serious public health problem because of its impact on the health of Americans, including premature death, disability, and the burden on our health care system. Like diseases, injuries do not occur at random and are preventable. The public health community has the experience as well as the public and private partners necessary to research, develop, and communicate effective methods to prevent injury. Public health efforts to prevent injuries have been highly successful.
Similar results are possible with other types of injuries.
These are the injuries which result from falls, motor vehicle crashes, bicycle crashes, poisonings, or drowning which potentially can be life threatening in nature. It is our philosophy that injuries of this nature can be anticipated and are preventable and measurable. Most of the time, these injuries and deaths occur during the course of a crime. While these injuries may not be preventable in the same sense as unintentional injuries, there are risk factors associated with various incidents of violence which make it possible to determine if one is more or less vulnerable to these types of injuries. The criminal justice model of preventing violence depends primarily upon deterring potential offenders through the arrest, prosecution and punishment of violent offenders.