Injury And Violence

3 Pages 694 Words

INJURY AND VIOLENCE
According to Health.gov, “More than 400 Americans die each day from injuries due primarily to motor vehicle crashes, firearms, poisonings, suffocation, falls, fires, and drowning. The risk of injury is so great that most persons sustain a significant injury at some time during their lives.” This piece of information really surprised me. This is the biggest problem in our country I believe and desperately needs some kind of light brought to its attention. Although car accidents are the leading cause of death in this category, the amount of homicides in this country is far beyond frightening.
There are many leading health indicators that range from the physical to the mental sides of health. Physical activity and obesity has a lot to do with America these days. Almost half of America is overweight. Tabacco and substance abuse are other major problems. Responsible sexual behavior, mental health, environmental, immunization and access to health care are all other major concerns toward our health. All of these factors are not very surprising when you stop and look around at the US. The one thing that really is surprising is the homicide rate in the US. Located under Injury and violence, this health concern is what I think is maybe not the most important to fix, but the most interesting to analyze.
The cost of hospital bills in the US towards injury related patients are over 224 billion dollars. “In 1997, 32,436 individuals died from firearm injuries, 42 percent were victims of homicide. Also in 1997, homicide was the third leading cause of death for children aged 5 to 14 years, an increasing trend in childhood violent deaths. In 1996, more than 80 percent of infant homicides were considered to be fatal child abuse.” These facts are simply unbelievable. It turns out that the national average in America is something like 11,000 gun-related deaths a year. The closest to that amount out of any othe...