Book Review

Injury Prevention: An International Perspective
Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Policy

By Peter Barss, Gordon S Smith, Susan P Baker and Dinesh Mohan
New York: Oxford University Press, 1998; xii + 375 pp; ISBN 0-19-511982-7;  $85.50 (CAN)

This book is a valuable resource for those involved in injury surveillance and prevention. It is international in scope and explores injury issues not only of developed countries, but also from the perspective of less developed countries and of indigenous peoples around the world.

The ideas and data presented combined with discussion of complex causal factors will engage the interest of public health professionals and other experts involved in injury prevention. Yet the uncomplicated manner in which the data are presented and the flowing, easy-reading style will also make it useful for anyone who is interested in injury prevention.

The book offers international data for people of all ages, including both intentional and unintentional injuries. It is well organized, starting with an overview of the epidemiology of injury, profiling international data on overall injury mortality and morbidity, and then discussing important categories of injury such as traffic injuries, drownings, falls, burns, poisonings, occupational injuries, homicides and suicides. Also included are sections on the costs of injury, treatment and rehabilitation.

The authors have gathered an impressive selection of international injury data. They try to present the data by age group and sex for a range of developing countries from all parts of the world and include comparison data from a few developed countries. Unfortunately, Canadian data are not routinely reported in this way although Canadian examples are frequently used in discussion, particularly illustrations from aboriginal communities.

Not all of the data shown are current, many are more than a decade old. This situation reflects the unfortunate lack of sound international injury surveillance rather than any inadequacy in data collection for the book. The authors compare injury rates across countries and provide detailed interpretation of the data as well as insightful discussion of exposure to hazards, complex causal factors and approaches to prevention. The discussion reveals remarkable understanding and sensitivity to the diverse contributions of population structure, environment, culture, social factors and political situation in patterns of injury.

The book includes many useful tables, most of which provide injury data. However, graphs and figures are used sparingly and the only illustration is the photograph on the cover. The pages of text are presented with wide margins into which sidebars are strategically placed. These sidebars feature short summaries, specific examples and interesting quotations.

The following 1949 quotation from John E Gordon is given at the opening of the first chapter. I think it provides an excellent introduction to the book and might also have served as the conclusion.

The newer concept of prevention, as it developed, was applied almost wholly to disease, to the sick. The injured were largely forgotten...

 

Overall rating:	Very good to Excellent
Strengths:	International perspective, good data from diverse sources and in-depth discussion and interpretation
Weaknesses:	Limited number of graphs, charts and illustrations
Audience:	International medical and public health professionals, government regulators and policy makers, and others interested or involved in injury surveillance and prevention

Margaret Herbert
Bureau of Reproductive and Child Health
Laboratory Centre for Disease Control
Health Canada, Tunney's Pasture
Address Locator: 0601E2
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0L2

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