Health system and law enforcement synergies for injury surveillance, control and prevention: a scoping review

Abstract

Background Healthcare providers and law enforcement (LE) officers are among the most common first responders to injuring events. Despite frequent interface between the health system (HS) and LE sectors, the published evidence that supports their collaboration in injury surveillance, control and prevention has not been comprehensively reviewed. Methods We conducted a scoping review of literature published from 1990 to 2016 that focused on local and regional HS and LE collaborations in injury surveillance, control and prevention. Our aim was to describe what is known and what remains unexplored about these cross-sector efforts. Results 128 articles were included in the final review. These were categorised by their focus on either surveillance activities or partnerships in injury control and prevention programmes. The majority of surveillance articles focused on road traffic injuries. Conversely, articles describing partnerships and programme evaluations primarily targeted the prevention of interpersonal violence. Discussion This review yielded two major findings: overall, the combination of HS and LE injury data added value to surveillance systems, especially as HS data augmented LE data; and HS and LE partnerships have been developed to improve injury control and prevention. However, there are few studies that have evaluated the impact and sustainability of these partnerships. Conclusions The current evidence to support HS and LE collaboration in injury surveillance and control and prevention programmes is heterogeneous. Notable gaps suggest ample opportunity for further research and programme evaluation across all types of injury.

Building capacity for injury prevention: a process evaluation of a replication of the Cardiff Violence Prevention Programme in the Southeastern USA

“…Public health agencies have the authority to receive protected health information and are the ideal partners for receiving, processing and aggregating data from multiple sources. Summary information in the form of aggregate maps and lists of businesses experiencing high counts of violence can then be shared with the community safety partnership for injury prevention and control activities 5 23 24. The Cardiff Model collects, aggregates and shares violence-related injury data, potentially through a public health agency, in a form that may be used by LE and other partners.…”

Epidemiology of prehospital trauma deaths in Malawi: A retrospective cohort study

“…In the same setting, Maine et al have reported an IPV prevalence of 34.5% in the injured population [ 36 ]. In an effort to curb this problem, a deliberate collaboration between the health care service and law enforcement agencies in injury surveillance and prevention should be promoted [ 37 ]. Further, public health interventions should be designed to identify at-risk populations and key contributing factors for a tailor-made solution in dealing with IPV, especially in this setting [ 36 ].…”

Firearm assault in Philadelphia, 2005–2014: a comparison of police and trauma registry data

“…Local police databases may represent important and underutilized resources for describing city-level firearm injury epidemiology 19 20. Partnerships between health systems and law enforcement, like the Cardiff Violence Prevention Program, have the potential to enhance firearm injury surveillance and identify prevention targets 21. Future research in firearm injury epidemiology should use inclusive or linked data sources, including police data, which contain information on both fatal and non-fatal injuries.…”