What are the “must read” classic papers in the filed of injury prevention? To which papers to you find yourself turning most frequently or citing most heavily? Can you identify papers that were, methodologically groundbreaking or important in setting the paradigm of our field?
As part of a training seminar for an injury research fellowship, we are encouraging our fellows to read some classic papers in injury prevention research.
We have, of course, started with the list of “injury classics” reprinted in Injury Prevention in the late 1990s. These include:
Accidents among children under two years of age in Great Britain, 1950
G Rowntree
Inj Prev 1998;4:69-76 doi:10.1136/ip.4.1.69
Mechanical analysis of survival in falls from heights of fifty to one hundred and fifty feet, 1957
Hugh De Haven
Inj Prev 2000;6:62-68 doi:10.1136/ip.6.1.62-b
Social patterns of road accidents to children: some characteristics of vulnerable families, 1959
E. M. Backett, A. M. Johnston
Inj Prev 1997;3:57-62 doi:10.1136/ip.3.1.57
Home accidents in childhood. 1959.
R. J. Haggerty
Inj Prev 1996;2:290-298 doi:10.1136/ip.2.4.290
Theory and methods of epidemiologic study of home accidents. 1963.
R. A. Stallones
Inj Prev 1996;2:55-60 doi:10.1136/ip.2.1.55
Personality characteristics of the child accident repeater, 1967
Dean I Manheimer, Glen D Mellinger
Inj Prev 1997;3:135-143 doi:10.1136/ip.3.2.135
The changing approach to the epidemiology, prevention, and amelioration of trauma: the transition to approaches etiologically rather than descriptively based, 1968
William Haddon, Jr
Inj Prev 1999;5:231-235 doi:10.1136/ip.5.3.231
Young children in traffic. 1970.
S. Sandels
Inj Prev 1995;1:112-115 doi:10.1136/ip.1.2.112
Bicycle ownership, use, and injury patterns among elementary schoolchildren, 1971
Julian A Waller
Inj Prev 1995;1:256-261 doi:10.1136/ip.1.4.256
Energy damage and the 10 countermeasure strategies. 1973.
W. Haddon, Jr
Inj Prev 1995;1:40-44 doi:10.1136/ip.1.1.40
The exposure of young children to accident risk as pedestrians. 1974
D. A. Routledge, R. Repetto-Wright, C. I. Howarth
Inj Prev 1996;2:150-161 doi:10.1136/ip.2.2.150
Probability of arrest while driving under the influence of alcohol, 1975
George A Beitel, Michael C Sharp, William D Glauz
Inj Prev 2000;6:158-161 doi:10.1136/ip.6.2.158
Observed child restraint use in automobiles, 1976
Allan F Williams
Inj Prev 1998;4:155-160 doi:10.1136/ip.4.2.155
Swimming pool immersion accidents: an analysis from the Brisbane Drowning Study. 1977
John H Pearn, James Nixon
Inj Prev 1997;3:307-309 doi:10.1136/ip.3.4.307
Tap water scald burns in children, 1977
Kenneth W Feldman, Robert T Schaller, Janen A Feldman, Mollie McMillon
Inj Prev 1998;4:238-242 doi:10.1136/ip.4.3.238
Handguns as a pediatric problem, 1986
Katherine K Christoffel, Tom Christoffel
Inj Prev 1999;5:151-156 doi:10.1136/ip.5.2.151
But we are also looking for the “classics” that did not make this list. Are there more papers in violence prevention? In community interventions? In prevention as a global health issue?
What about these “highly cited” papers: are they also injury classics?
The incidence of injuries among 87,000 Massachusetts children and adolescents: results of the 1980-81 Statewide Childhood Injury Prevention Program Surveillance System.
Gallagher SS, Finison K, Guyer B, Goodenough S.
Am J Public Health. 1984 Dec;74(12):1340-7.
Childhood injury prevention counseling in primary care settings: a critical review of the literature.
Bass JL, Christoffel KK, Widome M, Boyle W, Scheidt P, Stanwick R, Roberts K.
Pediatrics. 1993 Oct;92(4):544-50.
The impact of the Safe Kids/Healthy Neighborhoods Injury Prevention Program in Harlem, 1988 through 1991.
Davidson LL, Durkin MS, Kuhn L, O’Connor P, Barlow B, Heagarty MC.
Am J Public Health. 1994 Apr;84(4):580-6.
Low-income neighborhoods and the risk of severe pediatric injury: a small-area analysis in northern Manhattan.
Durkin MS, Davidson LL, Kuhn L, O’Connor P, Barlow B.
Am J Public Health. 1994 Apr;84(4):587-92.
Bicycle helmet use among Maryland children: effect of legislation and education.
Coté TR, Sacks JJ, Lambert-Huber DA, Dannenberg AL, Kresnow MJ, Lipsitz CM, Schmidt ER.
Pediatrics. 1992 Jun;89(6 Pt 2):1216-20.
Injuries in high-risk persons and high-risk sports. A longitudinal study of 1818 school children.
Backx FJ, Beijer HJ, Bol E, Erich WB.
Am J Sports Med. 1991 Mar-Apr;19(2):124-30.
Please comment below to register your thoughts about these selections or to suggest new “classics” for this list.