Different sectors need to cooperate and different kinds of disciplines, knowledge, skills and attitudes need to be integrated to address the underlying causes of accidents and to contribute to designing strategies and policies aimed at preventing accidents. The sectors involved include health, the environment, land-use planning, energy, education, transport, industry and consumer safety.
Quantifying the magnitude of home and leisure accidents in the European region as a whole remains a challenge because reporting systems, definitions and data availability vary. Personal injuries are an important problem, estimated to affect between 2.5 and 15 people per 100 population per year in the EU. Children younger than 10 years of age are at higher risk than other age groups. Both the Healthy Cities and the Safe Community networks are actively engaged in promoting accident and injury prevention, especially among children and other vulnerable groups. Policies aimed at improving the safety of dwellings and of consumer products and initiatives in local communities are the key developments in preventing home and leisure accidents.
There are still major shortcomings in the quality and quantity of data available on mortality and morbidity caused by accidents and injuries. The new classification of external causes of death being drawn up by WHO and the creation by the EU of new databases on road traffic accidents are helping to improve the current situation. Additional efforts need to be made to improve the collection and monitoring of data on home and leisure accidents.