The Injury Control and Emergency Services Section embraces all professionals and trainees interested in unintentional injury, violence, emergency health services and emergency preparedness. Professional members form the U.S. and throughout the world bring a global perspective to the work on the Section. Our membership reflects the diversity of the field:
- Epidemiologists, educators and public policymakers
- Specialists in emergency medicine, acute care, rehabilitation and disaster preparedness
- Injury control practitioners in state and local health departments
- Researchers and academicians
- Students, fellows and trainees
- Direct health service providers
- Biomechanical engineers, administrators and attorneys
WHAT WE DO
Promote the exchange of knowledge and experience through:
- scientific programs at the APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition;
- workshops, roundtable discussions, continuing education and training courses;
- methodological advances in injury science;
- approachable expert speakers;
- interactive poster sessions;
- offering current information on injury, violence and data issues of national significance via bi-monthly electronic newsletters;
- networking socials; and
- advocating for key issues in the field.
Recognize scholarship, leadership and service by:
- presenting annual awards to outstanding students and professionals; and
- supporting promising students and early-career professionals with APHA scholarships.
HOW AND WHAT WE ADVOCATE
- Educate policymakers on the impact of injuries, violence and injury-related health disparities.
- Communicate advocacy opportunities to Section members.
- Promote coding of external causes of injury medical data.
- Encourage federal and state funding levels that reflect the relative societal burden of injury and violence.
- Support policies, programs and agencies whose goals include reducing injury and violence-related health disparities.
- Promote access to comprehensive injury and violence prevention and rehabilitation for injury across the lifespan.
- Highlight neglected injury, violence and preparedness issues.
HOW WE ENGAGE STUDENTS
- Our Section embraces student participation. Students are invited to join a committee of interest, co-chair a committee, run for elected office, participate in advocacy issues, and write articles for the Section newsletter. Students are encouraged to take full advantage of all Section activities as a way to get to know, work with and be mentored by injury and violence prevention professionals.
- Thanks to the work of our Development Committee and our generous donors, our Section offers scholarships to students to support APHA membership, attendance to the APHA Annual Meeting, and attendance at our annual awards dinner.
- Our Section presents an annual award for best student paper, to foster and reward quality research efforts among students involved in the field. Awardees have the opportunity to fast-track their papers to publication in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention. This award is generously supported by the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety.
- The Section’s Presidential Road Safety Scholarship Fund supports students for outstanding contributions to injury research. The program is made possible with contributions from leading national and international injury prevention and road safety organizations, including AAA Foundation, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and Make Roads Safe-The Campaign for Global Road Safety.