Approximately 39.6 million people are treated in hospital emergency departments and 2.6 million Americans are hospitalized each year for traumatic injuries. Experts claim, even with these large numbers, that most injuries are not reported. Trauma is one of the most pressing public health problems in the United States today. One of four American workers is affected by traumatic injury, yet this problem is largely unrecognized. Occupational trauma awareness must be promoted.
Traumatic injury accounts for more lost years of life than heart disease and cancer combined.
While some deaths related to cancer and heart disease can be prevented with lifestyle changes, trauma is truly preventable. The word accident refers to an unexpected, unforeseen and unfortunate event. In reality, most traumatic injuries are preventable with only a small amount of planning. An injury is a definable, correctable event, with a specific risk for occurrence. It is the consequence of many interactions that arrive together at a particular split second.