Injuries, violence continue to play a major role in mortality of Americans: Prescription drug abuse a concern
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* Jeffrey Lin

Prescription drug abuse has become one of the greatest causes of injury death in the United States, according to a recent report.

“The Facts Hurt: A State-by-State Injury Prevention Policy Report” highlights how investments in public health and practical policy can affect injury and violence prevention. Released by the Trust for America’s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on June 17, the report includes trends in injury rates and policy suggestions that states can enact to reduce injuries and violence.

“Injuries are not just acts of fate — research shows they are pretty predictable and they are actually pretty preventable,” said Jeffrey Levi, PhD, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health and an APHA member, in a press call. “Evidence-based strategies can actually help prevent and reduce everything from motor vehicle crashes to homicides and drug overdoses.”

According to data gathered from 2011 to 2013, West Virginia had the highest rates of injury deaths, at 97.9 per 100,000 people. Drug overdoses and other forms of poisoning are a major contributor to the high injury death rate. The report noted that the number of deaths related to drug overdoses and poisonings has more than doubled in the last 14 years. About half of the deaths are prescription drug-related.

“While prescription drug abuse is a national epidemic, it impacts some states much more than others,” Levi said.

Kentucky, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and West Virginia had rates above 20 deaths per 100,000 people from overdose and poisoning. Levi noted that West Virginia had 33.5 deaths from overdose and poisoning deaths per 100,000 people — the highest rate in the United States. Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia had rates below 10 deaths per 100,000 people.

The report also provided information on injury and violence issues that have persistently plagued Americans.

“As a country, we often focus on new troubling trends — like the prescription drug epidemic, increasing fall-related deaths and traumatic brain injuries — but we can’t afford to neglect persistent problems – like motor vehicle accidents, drowning, assaults and suicides,” Corrine Peek-Asa, PhD, MPH, professor and associate dean for research at the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa, said during the press call.

Another focus of the report are violence trends, including homicide and suicide rates. Although homicide rates have dropped by 42 percent in the past 20 years, the homicide rate among young blacks is 10 times higher than the rate for the overall population.

Peek-Asa also emphasized the consistent and high number of suicides. For 20 years, around 41,000 suicides per year have occurred. Moreover, 17 percent of teenagers consider suicide seriously per year and greater than 1 million adults attempt suicide every year.

Despite the troubling news on injury rates, the report also emphasizes that the United States can implement a number of injury and violence prevention policies. The report recommends increasing investments into injury prevention research, adding resources and workforce for injury prevention and building partnerships between other sectors and public health.

A lack of resources, however, limits the impact policies can have on injury prevention, it said.

“Injuries incur the second highest medical costs of all preventable health issues — but injury prevention receives only about 5 percent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s total budget,” said Amber Williams, an APHA member and executive director of Safe States Alliance, during the press call. “In fact, it only adds up to 28 cents per person.”

Increased investment in public health and cooperation between public health advocates and other organizations can have a great impact on injury and violence prevention.

“We need to stay vigilant and support researchers to continue to advance strategies and practitioners to implement them,” Levi said. “Successful health policies, programs and educational campaigns can help give Americans the tools they need to stay safe and protect their families.”

For more information on the report, visit [www.tfah.org](http://www.tfah.org). APHA also offers information on prescription drug overdoses and injury prevention on its website at [http://apha.org/topics-and-issues/all-topics-and-issues](http://apha.org/topics-and-issues/all-topics-and-issues).

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association