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You open your web browser to your favorite general news site and see a headline about a “freak accident.” What are the chances that story will include injury prevention advice?

Pretty slim according to a new study.

A new study from the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy finds a general absence of explicit injury prevention content in stories that include the phrase “freak accident.”

In 220 stories about an injury, 84% included no prevention information, 8% included only general warnings and 8% included clear prevention messages.

The authors of the study suggest this creates “missed opportunities for promoting safety.”

“There may be potential benefit in educational outreach with journalists with regard to injury epidemiology and prevention, and a potential need for injury prevention specialists to create relationships with these journalists,” the study said. “Such partnerships would facilitate the use of potentially newsworthy injury events as opportunities for prevention communication.”

The study suggests outreach to sports journalists should be included because 60% of the “freak accident” stories dealt with professional athletes’ injuries.

Another potential concern for safety pros: Some have suggested that using the phrase “freak accident” in these stories implies that the injuries were somehow unpreventable.

What do you think about the study? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Tags: freak accident, Hopkins Center for Injury Research, injury prevention