Unintentional injury

Québec WHO Collaborating Centre for Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention: Activity Report May 2016-April 2018

The Centre is made up of institutions in the Québec public health network under the scientific coordination of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), which, in conjunction with its mission, establishes links with Canadian and international organizations in order to foster cooperation and the pooling of knowledge.

The Collaborating Centre seeks to contribute at the international level to research, development and the dissemination of intersectoral approaches to promote safety and prevent intentional and unintentional injuries.

2014-2018 Mandate:

  • Collaborate in the activities of the WHO and the PAHO.
  • Satisfy the needs of the international community.
  • Support the Réseau francophone international de prévention des traumatismes et de promotion de la sécurité (French-speaking injury prevention and safety promotion network).

Anticipated contributions:

  1. Collaborate on WHO’s progra…

Cyclist safety: Why bicycle helmets are important and whether they should be mandatory in Québec

In Québec, head injuries are a major cause of death and hospital admissions among cyclists.

Helmets are very effective for preventing head injuries in all cyclists, whether falling off a bike or having a collision with a motor vehicle.

Promotion campaigns targeting children under 18 are effective for increasing use of bike helmets, especially when they are community-wide and accompanied by a free helmet distribution program.

In Québec, bike helmet use has increased considerably since 2010, reaching an average of 53% in 2014. In some regions, this proportion was around 70%, which is close to the maximum 80% achievable with a law making it mandatory to wear a bicycle helmet. Seventy-eight percent of children aged 5-9 years were wearing helmets.

Studies on the effect of laws making bicycle helmets mandatory suggest that this type of law can help reduce the number of deaths and hospital admissions among cyclists, but their limitations and sometimes contra…

Québec WHO Collaborating Centre for Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention: Activity Report May 2014-April 2016

The Centre is made up of institutions in the Québec public health network under the scientific coordination of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), which, in conjunction with its mission, establishes links with Canadian and international organizations in order to foster cooperation and the pooling of knowledge. The Collaborating Centre seeks to contribute at the international level to research, development and the dissemination of intersectoral approaches to promote safety and prevent intentional and unintetional injuries.

2014-2018 Mandate:

  • Collaborate in the activities of the WHO and the PAHO.

  • Satisfy the needs of the international community.

  • Support the Réseau francophone international de prévention des traumatismes et de promotion de la sécurité (French-speaking injury prevention and safety promotion network).

Anticipated contributions:

  • Collaborate on WHO’s p…
Centre collaborateur OMS pour la promotion de la sécurité et la prévention des traumatismes

Presence of Psychoactive Substances in Biological Samples From Drivers Fatally Injured in Québec From 2002 to 2013

Since 2002, the number of road traffic deaths in Québec has been falling steadily, even though the number of motor vehicles on the road – automobiles, in particular – has increased considerably. Nevertheless, the use of alcohol, drugs and medications is frequently cited as a cause of road traffic accidents by public authorities, since these psychoactive substances have the potential to impair driving.

The aim of this study is to present a profile of the psychoactive substances (i.e. alcohol, drugs and medications) examined and detected among motor vehicle and motorcycle drivers aged 16 years and over who were killed in road traffic accidents in Québec from 2002 to 2013.

The main findings are as follows:

  • The presence of psychoactive substances in the drivers of motor vehicles figured among the circumstances of death, but no assessment of a causal link between this presence and road traffic accidents was made.
  • The proportion of fatal…

Preventing Intentional OTC Drug Overdoses

  • Each year in Québec, approximately 174 people commit suicide by drug overdose, of which at least 15 are the result of over-the-counter (OTC) drug overdoses.
  • A substantial number of suicides and suicide attempts by overdose involve more than one substance.
  • The number of suicides by OTC medication is under-estimated, since in cases where several drugs have been ingested, only the substance that is presumed to have caused the death is considered when determining the most likely cause of death.
  • Acetaminophen is by far the most common drug involved in intentional OTC drug overdoses, followed by salicylates, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, and antihistamines. Depending on the ingested drug and dose, these medications can have serious adverse health effects.
  • Unlike in a number of European countries, Canada (including Québec) has no restrictions on the maximum quantity per OTC pack sold in pharmacies, particularly for acetaminophen, ibuprofe…

Québec WHO Collaborating Centre for Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention: Activity Report January 2013-April 2014

The Centre is made up of institutions in the Québec public health network under the scientific coordination of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), which, in conjunction with its mission, establishes links with Canadian and international organizations in order to foster cooperation and the pooling of knowledge.

This report is submitted each year to the WHO/PAHO and is part of the organization's management and monitoring requirements in respect of the Québec WHO Collaborating Centre for Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention. Exceptionally, this report covers a period of 16 months, i.e. the year 2013 and the first four months of 2014, given that the Centre's 2010-2014 mandate expired at the end of April 2014. The next report will cover a period of eight months, starting with the new 2014-2018 mandate. The report refers solely to activities related to the mandate received from the WHO/PAHO.

Québec WHO Collaborating Centre for Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention: Activity Report 2012

The Centre is made up of institutions in the Québec public health network under the scientific coordination of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec, which, in conjunction with its mission, establishes links with Canadian and international organizations in order to foster cooperation and the pooling of knowledge.

This report is submitted each year to the WHO/PAHO and is part of the organization's management and monitoring requirements in respect of the Québec WHO Collaborating Centre for Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention. It refers solely to activities related to the mandate received from the WHO/PAHO.

Centre collaborateur OMS pour la promotion de la sécurité et la prévention des traumatismes

Opioid-related Poisoning Deaths in Québec: 2000 to 2009

Prescription opioid use has increased in Québec in recent years. In view of the serious consequences stemming from drug misuse in this pharmacological class, it is possible that the increase has affected the temporal trend in opioid-related poisoning deaths.

Objectives

Determine the opioid-related poisoning death rates in Québec and describe the temporal evolution of the phenomenon by age, gender of the deceased, manner of death, and type of opioid involved.

Method

Type of study and population

A retrospective trend analysis of poisoning-related death rates from 1990 to 2009 in the population 20 years of age or over.

Data

The death registry of the Registre des événements démographiques and the computerized database of the Bureau du coroner en chef du Québec.

Statistical analysis

A Joinpoint Regression analysis used to determine whether significant chang…

Safety of Elementary School Students Walking or Bicycling Between Home and School in Québec: Summary

This summary presents recommendations made by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec to foster safe active transportation between home and school among elementary school students. It is based on a review of the scientific literature.

Roundabouts for Public Health

This briefing note is focused on modern roundabouts – also referred to as roundabouts in this document. This briefing note is intended to provide public health actors with a frame of reference by:

  1. Summarizing some of the significant characteristics of this intervention (history, design, reasons for and conditions of implementation);
  2. Briefly summarizing the evaluative literature concerning the effects of roundabouts on a few public health determinants;
  3. Identifying some potential courses of action for their promotion, along with some related considerations.

The briefing note takes the form of questions and answers.