Focus On
Unintentional Injuries
Injury and violence are among the leading causes of death and hospitalization in Kansas. Motor vehicle crashes, unintentional falls, firearms and unintentional poisonings are the leading causes of injury mortality in Kansas.
State: Kansas
(Compared to U.S. Value)
Unintentional Injuries Indicator Map: Age-adjusted Traffic Injury Mortality Rate per 100,000 Population
0.0 deaths/ 100,000 population
This indicator shows the death rate per 100,000 population due to on- or off-road accidents involving a motor vehicle. Deaths resulting from boating accidents and airline crashes are not included in this measure.
Data Source: Kansas Department of Health and Environment
For people 1 to 44 years old, injury is the leading cause of death in Kansas. Each year, about 1,600 Kansans die as a result of injury. In the U.S., violence and injuries cost more than $406 billion in medical care and lost productivity each year.
It is common to consider injuries or accidents as random events. However, this implies that injuries are unpredictable and unpreventable. Injuries are preventable and, at the community level, are also predictable. The public health approach to injury prevention is a process that involves identifying and defining the problem, identifying risk and protective factors, developing and testing prevention strategies, and assuring widespread adoption of effective strategies. Rather than address single types of injury that occur to individuals on a one to one basis, broad causes and preventive solutions are the focus of injury prevention in public health.