Global trends in trauma

Abstract

Injuries cause about 10% of all deaths worldwide, with road traffic accidents, self-inflicted injuries, violence and war injuries being the most common causes of traumatic deaths. There is an anticipated increase in all of these categories by the year 2020. In addition to the increasing global incidence of trauma, other major trends in trauma and its management identified in this review include the growing emphasis on prevention and public health aspects of trauma, the globalization of trauma practices due to the rapid access to new information, a critical emphasis on organizational aspects of trauma care and education, the prominent role of efficacious and cost effective management practises, a shift to gentler treatment methods with less interference in the physiological recovery mechanisms, and at the same time, extreme care and the management of its consequences. In order to fight the global epidemic of trauma, it is the duty and the privilege of health care professionals to take the leadership in this task by ‘thinking globally and acting locally’ but most importantly by working together and sharing their expe riences (the successes and the failures) and by knowing that they can make a difference. © 2004, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.