Increased awareness of how and where injuries most often occur helps individuals, parents and caregivers help prevent accidents and decrease injuries.

In Canada, injuries are the leading cause of death for children, youth, and young adults, aged 1-24. Injuries rank fourth among the causes of death across all age groups and genders. In British Columbia, there are more than 260 children killed each year because of unintentional injuries.

The Facts

Preventing injuries helps save lives, reduce pain and suffering, and lower health care costs.

Injuries have a major economic impact in terms of direct costs of treatment, care, and rehabilitation, and indirect costs of lost productivity associated with injury.

For example, in 1998, 424,000 preventable injuries cost British Columbians almost $2.1 billion.

• $728 million (36%) resulted from falls;
• $428 million (21%) resulted from motor vehicle crashes;
• $216 million (11%) resulted from poisonings;
• $681 million (32%) resulted from drowning, fires, and a range of other injuries not
specified by hospital classification systems.

More efforts to prevent injuries can help save lives and result in substantial savings to the health care system. Research from the United States in the year 2000 indicated:

• $1 spent on smoke alarms can save the system $69
• $1 spent on bicycle helmets can save the system $29
• $1 spent on child safety seats can save the system $32
• $1 spent on road safety improvements can save the system $3
• $1 spent on prevention counseling by pediatricians can save the system $10
• $1 spent on poison control can save the system $7

Falls among the elderly

Falls are the leading cause of injury among the elderly and the sixth leading cause of death. It is estimated that hip fractures account for 40 percent of fall-related hospitalizations in Canada. And fifty percent of the people who suffer hip fractures do not regain the level of functioning they had before the fall. Canadians spend approximately $3 billion a year on fall-related injuries among seniors, and costs will most likely increase as the population ages.

Did you know

• Falls among the elderly are a serious public health issue.
• Falls are the most common cause of injury among seniors.
• One-third of people aged 65 and over will fall at least once a year.
• Falls are the most common injury requiring medical attention.
• Women are three times more likely to be hospitalized for a fall-related injury than men.
• Almost half the admissions to long-term care facilities are due to falls.
• Most falls occur at home, while doing normal daily activities.
• Many seniors restrict their activities from fear of falling, increasing their risk of falling due to muscle weakness, joint stiffness and poor balance.
• Falls are usually caused by a combination of factors such as loss of balance, side effects of medication, impaired vision or mobility, and environmental hazards.

Identifying risk factors and educating seniors, including their families and caregivers, can prevent falls. Risk factors include:

• A history of falls;
• Decreased awareness, balance and gait;
• Low body mass index;
• Use and misuse of medications; and
• Hazards in the home.

Falls among Children

On average, a child or youth is hospitalized in BC every 40 minutes, with over 12,000 children hospitalized each year from unintentional injuries. Falls are a leading cause of emergency department visits for children under the age of five.

Learning, exploring, and developing new skills involve challenge and often some risk. It is important to educate children, parents and caregivers to provide a safe environment and to help prevent injuries.

Sports and Recreation

Children and youth who participate in sports and recreational activities reap the benefits of physical fitness, motor skill acquisition, improved self-esteem and development of teamwork and leadership skills.

However, with these benefits comes the potential for injuries. Although very few deaths occur from sports or recreational activities, 19% of all emergency department visits to hospitals in the year 2000 resulted from sports and recreational injuries.

Strategies for preventing sports and recreational injuries can be directed at the participants, potential hazards, and playing environment. Strategies may include:

• Promoting the use of protective gear in both informal and organized sports and recreational activities;
• Ensuring the design, development and maintenance of sports and recreation equipment and facilities meet current safety standards;
• Adapting playing rules with respect to participants' age and ability.

Unfortunately, parents, coaches, and officials often have varying opinions of the required playing rules, guidelines, and equipment.

A recent review on sports and recreation injuries indicates the importance of:

• Examining the effectiveness of current prevention strategies in selected sports and recreational activities;
• Determining the use of this evidence for preventing injuries among children and youth;
• Presenting recommendations related to best practices on policy and program development and areas of future research.

Sports and Recreation Injury Prevention Strategies: Systematic Review and Best Practices (PDF 515Kb)

Supporting Injury Prevention

The Ministry of Health Planning is a key contributor in promoting injury prevention in British Columbia.

• The ministry supports the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit (BCIRPU). The primary purpose of the BCIRPU is to reduce both intentional and unintentional injuries in BC for all age groups through research, education, and program development.


• The Provincial Health Officer is currently developing a special report on prevention of falls among the elderly. The report will outline the magnitude of this health issue, measure the impact on the health care system, the demand on health services, and provide evidence based recommendations for reducing falls.


• The ministry supports the pilot Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System (EDISS). The surveillance system provides local injury information in ten emergency departments across BC. The collection, analysis, and interpretation of injury data are used to plan and evaluate community injury prevention programs.


• The Deputy Provincial Health Officer chairs the Injury Prevention Leadership Council, a multisectoral committee. The council provides a forum for major organisations involved in injury prevention to advise and assist one another on policies and programs underway. They coordinate activities that help reduce injuries among all age groups in BC.

Representatives from the following organizations are members of the council:

Resources and Information

For more information and resources on injury prevention, visit the following Web sites.

BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit

British Columbia Directory - Unintentional Injury Prevention Programs for Children and Youth (PDF 463Kb)

British Columbia Safety Council

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Injuries

Health Canada - Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program

Health Canada Online - Safety and Injury

Preventing Injuries in Child Care Settings (PDF 90Kb)

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