According to the World Health Organization, unintentional injuries were responsible for over 3.9 million deaths and over 138 million disability-adjusted life-years in 2004, with over 90% of those occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). This paper utilizes the year 2004 World Health Organization Global Burden of Disease Study estimates to illustrate the global and regional burden of unintentional injuries and injury rates, stratified by cause, region, age, and gender. The worldwide rate of unintentional injuries is 61 per 100,000 population per year. Overall, road traffic injuries make up the largest proportion of unintentional injury deaths (33%). When standardized per 100,000 population, the death rate is nearly double in LMIC versus high-income countries (65 vs. 35 per 100,000), and the rate of disability-adjusted life-years is more than triple in LMIC (2,398 vs. 774 per 100,000). This paper calls for more action around 5 core areas that need research investments and capacity development, particularly in LMIC: 1) improving injury data collection, 2) defining the epidemiology of unintentional injuries, 3) estimating the costs of injuries, 4) understanding public perceptions about injury causation, and 5) engaging with policy makers to improve injury prevention and control.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are related to shortand long-term negative physical and mental health consequences among children and adults. Studies of the last three decades on ACEs and traumatic stress have emphasized their impact and the importance of preventing and addressing trauma across all service systems utilizing universal systemic approaches. Current developments on the implementation of trauma informed care (TIC) in a variety of service systems call for the surveillance of trauma, resiliency, functional capacity, and health impact of ACEs. Despite such efforts in adult medical care, early identification of childhood trauma in children still remains a significant public health need. This article reviews

Objective: Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a significant health issue in the United States and worldwide. The majority of studies on IPV have been conducted in urban populations. The objectives of this study are to determine if prevalence, frequency, and severity of IPV differ by rurality and to identify variance in geographic access to IPV resources. Methods: A cross-sectional clinic-based survey of 1478 women was conducted to measure the 1-year prevalence of physical, sexual, and psychologic IPV. IPV intervention programs in the state were inventoried and mapped, and the distance to the closest program was estimated for each participant based on an innovative algorithm developed for use when only ZIP code location is available. Results: Women in small rural and isolated areas reported the highest prevalence of IPV (22.5% and 17.9%, respectively) compared to 15.5% for urban women. Rural women reported significantly higher severity of physical abuse than their urban counterparts. The mean distance to the nearest IPV resource was three times greater for rural women than for urban women, and rural IPV programs served more counties and had fewer on-site shelter services. Over 25% of women in small rural and isolated areas lived > 40 miles from the closest program, compared with < 1% of women living in urban areas. Conclusions: Rural women experience higher rates of IPV and greater frequency and severity of physical abuse yet live much farther away from available resources. More IPV resources and interventions targeting rural women are needed.

Our findings provide empirical data for the future study on mental health among collegiate athletes. Further studies on why female and freshmen athletes are at increased risk of experiencing symptoms of depression are also warranted.

In the United States, injuries are the leading cause of death among individuals aged 1 to 45 years and the fourth leading cause of death overall. Rural populations exhibit disproportionately high injury mortality rates. Deaths resulting from motor vehicle crashes, traumatic occupational injuries, drowning, residential fires, and suicide all increase with increasing rurality. We describe differences in rates and patterns of injury among rural and urban populations and discuss factors that contribute to these differences.