Explaining socio-economic differences in injury risks

As is common in the public health arena in general, the literature concerned with social differences in injury risks is dominated by individual-level studies. Though numerous, these studies are predominantly descriptive, mainly concerned with injury risk distribution across socio-economic groups (measured in terms of social class, education, income, occupation or ethnicity) or with persons in various socio-economic circumstances (e.g., the unemployed, single parents, multi-child families). There is a great need to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying social patterning of injury risks. Injury research still lacks explanatory models for and empirical evidence on how contextual and individual factors interact in injury causation. Such research may be of considerable help in understanding social differentials in injury risks and, perhaps most importantly, the differential benefits of preventive strategies.