METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES IN INJURY EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INJURY PREVENTION RESEARCH

Ln the past decade there has been increasing attention to the public h ealth importance of injuries. Public health agencies seeking to reduce injuries need methods for counting injuries, calculating injury rates , identifying the causes of injuries, and measuring outcomes of interv entions. All of these areas present problems for injury epidemiologist s and injury prevention programs. This paper provides a framework for classifying these problems into five categories: (a) numerator problem s; (b) denominator problems; (c) causation; (d) exposure measurement p roblems; and (e) multiplicity. For most problems, we identify proven o r potential solutions, using examples from the literature of injury ep idemiology.