Unintentional Injury and Violence Prevention in Schools: A Call for Action

Abstract

Unintentional injury and violence are problematic within schools and communities today. Of the 22 million children injured in the United States annually, 10 to 25%, or between 2 and 5 million per year, occur on school property (Children's Safety Network, 1997). A united effort is needed to lower the number of youths who experience nonfatal and fatal injuries. To meet that need, in the spring of 1997 the American School Health Association National Injury and Violence Prevention Task Force (NIVPTF) comprised of health, safety, education, and curriculum experts, was formed. To address the problems of school-related unintentional injury and violence, the NIVPTF formulated eight major recommendations (with related implementation strategies): (1) leadership and partnership; (2) defining injury as a problem; (3) data collection, analysis, and utilization; (4) assessment of school injury and violence prevention policies and practices; (5) the Comprehensive Injury and Violence Prevention Program; (6) comprehensive injury and violence prevention curricula; (7) evaluation of the Comprehensive Injury and Violence Prevention Program and curricula; and (8) school personnel education and development. This article contains a clarification of the need for school injury and violence prevention programs and sample strategies for implementation of each recommendation.