Current Practices in Injury Prevention and Safety Helmet Use Among Head Injury Patients in an Army Outpatient Care Setting

摘要

It has been estimated that 90,000 deaths related to unintentional injuries occur in the United States each year. Among the unintentional injuries, head injuries were a major contributor to injury-related mortality and morbidity. The purpose of this research was to investigate the current practices involving head injury prevention in Army outpatient care settings. This study used a descriptive quantitative design to examine whether primary care providers in two Army outpatient care settings provided counseling on safety helmet use involving individuals with a sports related head injury. Active duty soldiers and beneficiaries between the ages of 18-44 years were selected for study inclusion in order to coincide with the army population. A total of 607 medical records were reviewed using a checklist developed by the researcher. Fifty-one records met the criteria for inclusion in the study and 15 of the medical records were related to sports injuries. Only two of the records contained documentation of head injury counseling at the time of treatment for the head injury. Primary care provider's awareness of preventive counseling is encouraged to optimize the health and well being of our military population today.