Great variations occur in injury mortality and morbidity, which reflect the individual's age, gender, social and economic group, cultural and ethnic group and the place in which they live. This paper concentrates on social and economic factors and their relationship with injuries in higher income countries. Particular attention is paid to childhood injuries. The paper addresses the question of how it is possible to bridge the gap related to disadvantage and injury, through the examination of descriptive, explanatory and intervention studies and policy initiatives. Progress on addressing the gap is still in its early stages, with many research gaps related to explanatory and intervention studies and few examples of policy initiatives.