More than 9,000 children and adolescents die each year from unintentional injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It remains the number one cause of death for this group, beating out cancer.

Dr. Karen Liller, a child and adolescent injury professor in the Department of Community and Family Health at the USF College of Public Health, set out on a mission to raise awareness of preventing injuries in children and adolescents.

Her vision has turned into a nominated video that will be shared at the upcoming American Public Health Association’s Global Public Health Film Festival on Nov. 3 in Chicago, Ill. The festival showcases films from public health, including documentaries, public service announcements and educational videos with the aim to spark conversation about health in creative ways.

“Injuries are the leading cause of death in children and adolescents, so knowing the ways to prevent them is critical.” Liller said. “Even a short video that depicts just a few proven ways [to prevent injuries], and is also interesting to watch, will help get the message out to people.”

Liller did not want to use scare tactics to showcase this issue. Instead, she wanted this video to draw attention to the issue through a positive lens.

“The main message is that through these injury prevention strategies, you really can save children’s and adolescents’ lives,” Liller said.

The video illustrates common prevention procedures including installation of gates around swimming pools, wearing helmets, refraining from texting while driving and putting infants to sleep in their own cribs.

The target audience for the video includes parents, caregivers, community agencies, hospitals, schools, clinics and the general public. Liller wants to see this video promote injury prevention and also to serve as an example of what community agencies could do to prevent injuries.

“Injuries also lead to extraordinarily high health care costs which can be devastating for families,” Liller said. “For me personally, this video is very important because it will be shown to an international audience; I hope that it helps to get the word out broadly about what we’re doing here at the College of Public Health.”

Dr. Liller has advocated for injury prevention for children for decades, including working for the passage of Florida’s bicycle helmet law. However, she notes that while the area of injury prevention has come a long way, there is still much work do to.

“I wish that after all these years there was yet a greater understanding and appreciation of the field,” Liller said. “It is challenging for researchers and professionals to develop intervention strategies that work and for people to take action. However, this challenge, for me, continues to make the field exciting and so very necessary.”

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health.

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