Injuries are a leading cause of pediatric death, with risk changing across stages of child and adolescent development. Physical, cognitive, motor, and social changes influence injury patterns. This review outlines developmentally relevant risk factors and prevention strategies, including considerations for children with developmental differences such as autism, ADHD, and sensory impairments.
Engineering and technological advances have substantially reduced unintentional injuries among children and adolescents. Effective prevention strategies are theory-based and evidence-driven, ranging from active user-dependent measures to passive protections. Clinicians play a key role in guiding families on effective technologies while addressing disparities in access related to cost, location, and culture..
Unintentional injury prevention has long been a core responsibility of pediatric care, driven by advocacy, outreach, and multidisciplinary collaboration. This review highlights key historical milestones, influential individuals, and tools that have shaped primary and secondary injury prevention, offering insights to inform future prevention efforts.
Injuries are a leading cause of illness and death among children and young people, yet many are preventable. Frameworks such as the Haddon Matrix, the Injury Equity Framework, and the “7 Es” support systematic injury prevention. Pediatric clinicians play a critical role in advancing prevention through advocacy, research, and action across clinical and population levels.
