8.5: Safety
- Page ID
- 310366
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Injuries
Injuries are the primary cause of mortality for people between the ages of 1 and 44. Injuries are categorized as intentional and unintentional. Intentional injuries are purpose-driven injuries, such as self-afflicted or inflicted by means of others, such as in bioterrorism. Unintentional injuries are non-purpose-driven injuries, and these include motor vehicle crashes, drownings, falls, or fires (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2025 p185). Public health injury prevention involves strategies to prevent both unintentional (e.g., falls, car crashes) and intentional (e.g., violence, suicide) injuries through interventions like safety regulations, public education, and community-based programs. Key approaches include implementing traffic laws and safer road design, providing accessible naloxone for opioid overdoses, creating secure environments, promoting water safety, and addressing risk factors like alcohol abuse (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, n.d.).
All-Hazards Approach
Prior to the September 11 attacks and the Anthrax scare of 2001, emergency agencies, such as the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Border Patrol, and Federal Emergency Management Agency, were focused on single threats according to their goals and missions, and collaborating between the agencies was difficult. The terrorist attacks of 2001 revealed critical vulnerabilities in the U.S. public health and emergency response infrastructure, pushing agencies away from focusing narrowly on single threats (like natural disasters or border patrol) toward a more comprehensive strategy with the common understanding of obtaining a common mission and goal. To gather this outcome, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created on November 25, 2002. The DHS combined and reorganized twenty-two departments (EBSCO, 2025).
The all-hazards approach in public health is a preparedness framework that focuses on developing core capabilities to respond to a wide range of emergencies rather than planning for each specific threat. It emphasizes that emergency management is a continuous, circular process rather than a linear one. It assumes that many different types of disasters, whether natural, man-made, or health-related, share common needs, such as communication, leadership, and response capacity. Figure 1 below depicts this cycle; it emphasizes that the core components of the cycle are:
- Hazard Identification: Identifying, assessing, and characterizing potential risks.
- Preparedness & Mitigation: Taking proactive steps to reduce impact through remediation, protective measures, and contingency planning.
- Operational Continuity: Developing "Continuity of Operations" plans to ensure essential services remain functional during a crisis.
- Situational Awareness: Monitoring conditions when an event is imminent or occurring to assess the immediate threat.
- Response: Managing the active crisis through event response and post-event actions.
- Recovery & Reconstitution: Restoring services and incorporating "lessons learned" back into future mitigation and preparedness measures.
The All-Hazard Approach is the fundamental strategy DHS uses for all-hazards emergency preparedness and response, born of necessity following the events of 2001. By building these foundational capabilities, public health organizations can be more flexible and effective when any type of disaster strikes, as shown in Figure 1 (Gordon, 2025).
Reference
EBSCO. (2025). Creation of the Department of Homeland Security. EBSCO www.ebsco.com
Gordon, P. (2025). An all-Hazards educational approach to emergency management. Domestic Preparedness www.domesticpreparedness.com
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (n.d.). Injury Prevention. Healthy People 2030. US Department of Health and Human Services www.odphp.health.gov
Riegelman, R. & Kirkwood, B. (2025). Public health 101: Improving community health (4th ed). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.