Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Releases Cost of Injury report

On April 18, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released their first cost of injury report, The Incidence and Economic Burden of Injuries in the United States, in seven years.

“Many of the nearly 50 million injuries that occur each year in the United States are preventable,” said Dr. Ileana Arias, director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. “To accomplish that, though, we need greater recognition of the value of our prevention efforts. As this study shows, the benefits of preventing things like motor vehicle crashes, falls, residential fires, childhood abuses and other injuries are significant.”

The report prominently features older adult falls and their cost to the American public. Specifically, the report reveals that falls are the most common nonfatal injury for older adults and the related costs are monumental. Below are two excerpts from the report demonstrating the need for increased fall preventions measures.

• Falls are the leading cause of injury death (Murphy 2000) for Americans 65 years and older and the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma (Alexander 1992).
• More than a third of adults aged 65 years or older fall each year (Hornbrook 1994; Hausdorff 2001).
• Falls result in the greatest total lifetime costs among adults ages 65 and older injured in 2000, more than $19 billion (Finkelstein 2006).

For more information or to order a copy of the report, please visit the CDC’s website at: www.CDC.gov

The Home Safety Council aims to prevent falls in various ways such as the Safe Steps program, the Falls Free Coalition and the Keeping Seniors Safe from Falls legislation. For more information on HSC’s fall prevention efforts, please click here to visit.