Among causes of death in Alaska, unintentional injury has the largest toll in terms of years of potential life lost, followed by cancer and suicide, respectively. One of the most striking differences between Alaska and US death rates is seen with unintentional injury, with the Alaska age-adjusted rate of death from unintentional injuries at 63.0 per 100,000 compared to 52.2 per 100,000 in the US overall.
The HA2030 team chose to keep the HA2020 LHI on unintentional injury the same for the HA2030 plan to keep prevention efforts focused on this health priority. The HA2030 team discussed adding another objective focused on the unintentional morbidity rate as well to address the effects of non-fatal trauma, however when limiting the plan to 30 objectives ultimately decided to focus on addressing this through strategies and actions. The strategies and action steps were created to focus on the main unintentional injuries seen across the state: injury and death from falls, substance misuse, and transportation.
Many fall prevention programs recommend a multi-faceted approach to elder fall prevention, including examining and correcting household risks, determining the elder’s health risks for falls, especially their vision, medications and balance, and promoting strength and balance exercises. The CDC’s STEADI program recommends the involvement of multiple experts in a patient’s fall prevention program. The CDC also includes a number of multifaceted interventions, requiring partners with different expertise, in their Compendium of Effective Fall Interventions.
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The CDC and World Health Organization both have documented the association of alcohol and other substance use with injuries. Alcohol and drugs have been linked to injuries both as an indirect cause (when under the influence) and as a direct cause (as a poison). Studies have shown that efforts to reduce problem drinking result in decreased injury risks and that reducing access to drugs, such as opiates, reduces poisoning injuries.
As described in the Mission of the International Collaborative Effort (ICE) on Injury Statistics, “…data needed to better assess the causes and consequences of injury, differences in injury occurrence over time and place, and the most effective means of prevention and control.”
Transportation related injuries are one of the leading causes of death for most age groups in Alaska. The first action step listed below is designed to increase important knowledge about motor vehicle related crashes to improve intervention design (see citation below). The next action step will increase protective factors that are associated with multiple health conditions, including safe driving, riding, boating etc. And action step 3 is intended to increase collaboration between Alaska State Public Health and Department of Transportation’s Alaska Highway Safety Office, along with relevant partners.
May 6, 2025
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