Citation

Bachynski KE. Am. J. Public Health 2012; 102(12): 2214-2220.

Affiliation

Kathleen E. Bachynski is with the Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2012.300721

PMID

23078472

Abstract

Ice hockey and motorcycle riding are increasingly popular activities in the United States that are associated with high risks of head and facial injuries. In both, effective head and facial protective equipment are available. Yet the debates about safety policies regarding the use of head protection in these activities have taken different forms, in terms of the influence of epidemiological data as well as of the ethical concerns raised. I examine these debates over injury prevention in the context of leisure activities, in which the public health duty to prevent avoidable harm must be balanced with the freedom to assume voluntary risks. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print October 18, 2012: e1-e7. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.300721).

Language: en