Progress in preventing injuries: a content analysis of national policies in Europe

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide a content analysis of national policies to address violence and injury prevention in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region so as to inform where future improvements can be made. Multiple search methods were used to identify national policies for violence and injury prevention. Application of a framework based on a WHO guide was used for policy analysis. A multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) was additionally conducted. One hundred and twenty-three national policies were identified; of these, 80 were available in English language and analysed further. Most national policies had been developed after 2003. The majority of policies fulfilled most of the WHO criteria for effective policy-making. Policy areas requiring improvement include quantifying objectives, targeting the socio-economic gap in injury burden and increased focus on primary prevention. Results from the MCA confirmed the ones obtained with the descriptive statistics. Encouraging progress is being made in formulating national policy for violence and injury prevention within the WHO European Region. There are specific areas that warrant increasing attention in future policy development.

Keywords:

• policy analysis
• methodology
• child abuse
• mechanism
• traffic accidents

Acknowledgements

The web-based inventory of national policies was developed as part of a three-year collaborative project between WHO and the Directorate-General for Health and Consumers of the European Commission that began in April 2007 (2006WHO02 Prevention of Injuries): ‘Implementation of the European Council Recommendation on the prevention of injury and the promotion of safety and WHO Regional Committee for Europe resolution EUR/RC55/R9 on prevention of injuries in the WHO European Region’.

The authors would like to acknowledge Liz Cheek, University of Brighton, and Stephanie Goubet, Medical Statistician, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, for statistical advice.