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State Health Department Creating Trauma Guidebook

Luigi Scorcia
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/bizz0k0/3432638976/

The Indiana State Department of Health plans to target preventable injuries with a resource guide for emergency rooms and child-welfare caseworkers.

Officials plan to complete a guidebook by the end of the month, spelling out strategies for preventing 10 common injury sources, from child abuse to senior citizen falls. 

Some of those topics are what the Centers for Disease Control classify as "winnable battles" -- areas where the solution is to simply not do something. Other areas will offer proactive suggestions, says injury prevention epidemiologist Jessica Skiba.

"There’s the tai chi moving for better balance, under the home modifications there’s the fall home intervention team program, through the clinical there’s the steady tool kit, and then there are other multifaceted interventions," Skiba says.

The guidebook will also list agencies specializing in specific issues who can offer further assistance.