Implementing a hospital based injury surveillance system in Africa: lessons learned

Abstract

A multinational injury surveillance pilot project was carried out in five African countries in the first half of 2007 (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia). Hospitals were selected in each country and a uniform methodology was applied in all sites, including an injury surveillance questionnaire designed by a joint programme of the Pan American Health Organization and the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. A total of 4207 injury cases were registered in all hospitals. More than half of all injury cases were due to road traffic accidents (58.3%) and 40% were due to interpersonal violence. Self-inflicted injuries were minimal (1.2% of all cases). This report provides an assessment of the implementation of the project and a preliminary comparison between the five African countries on the context in which inter-personal injury cases occurred. Strengths and weaknesses of the project as well as opportunities and threats identified by medical personnel are summarized and discussed. A call is made to transform this pilot project into a sustainable public health strategy.

A pilot study of a hospital-based injury surveillance system in a secondary level district hospital in India: lessons learnt and way ahead

“…More than half of the patients admitted to an emergency department of a hospital sustained road traffic injuries similar to previous studies in low and middle income countries countries (Yamuragiye et al 2013; Uthkarsh et al 2012; Chinh et al 2007; Zavala et al 2008; John et al 2008). However few studies have reported fall injury as the most common mechanism of injury (Musharrafieh et al 2011; Cardona et al 2008).…”

Epidemiology of Traumatic Injuries in the Northeast Region of Haiti: A Cross-sectional Study

“…33 Further, a multinational surveillance study carried out in five countries in sub-Saharan Africa demonstrated a similar proportion of injuries due to RTA as in the current study. 41 As RTAs are the global epidemiologic driver for the increase in deaths due to trauma, their predominance as a mechanism in the present study highlights their importance in the Haitian setting. 2 Although these data are limited, the findings suggest that interventions aimed at prevention and treatment of RTA may be an efficacious public health endeavor in the Northeast region.…”

Fatal Injuries in the Slums of Nairobi and their Risk Factors: Results from a Matched Case-Control Study

“…The proportion of injuries (51%) due to violence (suicide and homicide) was higher than most reported in the region. A hospital-based study in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zambia revealed that 40% of injury deaths were due to violence,29 while another study in five Kampala Hospitals Uganda showed that deaths due to violence related injuries accounted for only 14% 30. While these differences might reflect the reality in terms of occurrence of deaths due to violence, it might also be a measurement issue.…”