Injury Prevention

Public Information, Education, and Relations for EMS (PIER) – Injury Prevention Modules (October 2002)

The PIER Injury Prevention Modules are designed to introduce you as an EMS provider to the knowledge and skills that will help you establish and practice Primary Injury Prevention (PIP). They also will provide you with “real-world” tools to help you plan and implement your PIP practice. Five modules progress sequentially and address the following:

Module I: Injury Prevention Basics
defines injury, explains how various factors interact to cause injury, and introduces strategies used to plan and implement injury interventions.

Module II: Personal Injury Prevention for Prehospital Professionals
reviews ways EMS can protect yourselves — before, during, and after a call.

Module III: The Mark of a Professional: EMS as Role Model and Teacher
reemphasizes the important role that superior professional practices, interpersonal skills, and thoughtful use of knowledge play in your function as a role model and teacher of safety.

Module IV: Data Collection and Risk Assessment
provides an introduction to what injury data tells us, what information you should collect, and ways you can use this information to plan and implement injury prevention interventions in your service area or community.

Module V: Strategies for Implementing Effective Safety Coalitions
details ways EMS providers can become proactive advocates for safety.

Examples range from trying your hand at injury prevention to becoming actively involved in an existing community-wide safety coalition to forming a new safety coalition in your community. The role of EMS in injury prevention remains in evolution. Members of this project welcome your feedback on the material.

Consensus Statement on the Role of EMS in Primary Injury Prevention (Document will be available soon)

This consensus statement is for EMS leaders, decision-makers and providers to use in creating a culture of health promotion and safety within EMS. The statement identifies the specific areas of injury prevention about which all EMS providers must be informed. It identifies essential activities for EMS leaders including protecting individual EMS providers from injury, providing education on the principles of injury prevention, supporting and promoting the collection and utilization of injury prevention activities, networking with prevention organizations, and participating in injury prevention interventions.