What is the leading cause of death among young people in New Mexico?
Injuries are the number one cause of death in children and young adults. Our healthiest population is dying from preventable causes.
How can we understand injuries better in order to prevent them?
Injuries fall into two categories--unintentional and intentional. A sixth grader falling off a bike is an unintentional injury. A high school student hitting another boy is an intentional injury.
For most types of injury there are evidence-based strategies to prevent or minimize injuries, including laws designed to protect the public. For more information about evidence-based strategies and promising practices, please contact the Injury Prevention team.
Please contact a team member for more information on prevention policies and programs.
The safety of New Mexicans is our priority.
About Injury Prevention
Injuries are the leading cause of death among people ages 1 to 44 in New Mexico. Each day an average of 5 people die from injuries, another 40 are hospitalized due to injuries, more than 700 are seen in emergency departments, and more than 2,000 visit other health care facilities for treatment of their injuries.
Injuries can be intentional or unintentional. Intentional injuries are inflicted by people on others--usually through violence. Domestic violence, sexual assault, and gun violence are all intentional injuries with a victimizer and a victim. Examples of unintended injuries include motor vehicle crashes, poisoning (from legal and illegal drugs), and falls (usually associated with the older population).
Injuries exact a tremendous toll on our state’s families and our state’s resources. The financial cost of injury amounts to more than $4 billion a year in New Mexico, and the emotional costs are impossible to measure. The only greater tragedy than the pain and suffering caused by injuries is that most are preventable. The Department of Health is working to reduce them by:
- Monitoring injury data to inform and guide prevention efforts
- Supporting coalitions, partnerships and professionals
- Providing technical assistance on public education strategies
- Promoting evidence-based policies for injury prevention
- Evaluating the effectiveness of injury prevention activities
"Injuries affect all ages, races, and nationalities. They affect men and women, the healthy and sick. They affect the survivors whose lives are changed forever and the loved ones left behind by a fatal injury."
Injury Hurts New Mexico, New Mexico Department of Health, 2007
Copyright 2008 New Mexico Department of Health - Injury Prevention