HOME & RECREATIONAL INJURIESSome of the leading causes of home and recreational injuries are fires and burns, falls, poisonings, near-drownings and intimate partner violence. A comprehensive study by the Home Safety Council found an average of 12 million non-fatal unintentional home injuries occur each year. 

Center faculty have addressed a number of home injury problems in research that identifies risk and protective factors as well as effective intervention strategies. Changes in toy labeling stemming from Center research has helped assure that caregivers are better informed about the safety of the products they purchase for young children. Domestic violence research has focused on evaluating policy and programmatic efforts desinged to help survivors stay safe.

Reducing house fires remains an important challenge, especially in low-income urban areas.Center faculty have been active in studying Fire and Life Safety Education programs provided by fire services throughout the country, as well as conducting case studies of individual state fire safety programs and policies. In Baltimore, Center faculty conduct community-based participatory research with fire professionals, city agencies and community organizations to find innovative strategies to disseminate smoke alarms and other household safety products such as carbon monoxide detectors.