Intentional and Unintentional Injuries Across Health Regions in Alberta, Canada: an Implication for Policy

The authors investigated whether there might be an empirical basis, from an ecological point of view, for including intentional injuries (suicide & interpersonal violence) under the injury control umbrella by examining the associations among unintentional & intentional injuries across 17 geographically defined health regions in Alberta. Results of a principal components analysis showed that nearly all causes of injury-hospitalization loaded on a single factor, suggesting that there is an empirical basis for grouping intentional & unintentional injuries under the same conceptual umbrella. (18 refs)