Violence and injury observatories: Reducing the burden of injury in high-risk communities

Abstract

Violence has been recognised officially as a global health issue, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting that 1.6 million people die annually from violence. South Africa's injury burden is very high, particularly for homicide, which is six times the global average. The idea of an 'observatory' has expanded recently, from its origins in astronomy to that of specialised informational repositories and knowledge-building centres, housing cross-referenced databases with advanced analytic and research capacities. This review essay provides information regarding the conceptual framework, historical background and various components of the violence observatory model, as well as evidence of effect. The intention is to provide information toCape were greater than the national average for both males and females. In Cape Town, the province's largest city and home to almost twothirds of the provincial population, the highest homicide counts for the period 2015 to 2016 were recorded in the relatively impoverished sub-districts of Nyanga (279 homicides) and Khayelitsha (161 homicides).14 While the criminal justice system remains the primary tool for responding to violence and injury in South Africa, evidence-based interventions for prevention are becoming increasingly influential in the field of public health, assuming a more central role in policymaking. 15 The public health approach to violence and injury prevention consists of three elements: assessing existing conditions; developing interventions; and evaluating programme effectiveness. 16Key to this approach is a surveillance system capable of providing essential information for the assessment phase in order to develop appropriate interventions and programme evaluation methods. 17Injury surveillance is widely recognised as a critical prerequisite for effective injury prevention.Ongoing surveillance can monitor the incidence of injury, identify risk factors and contribute to the planning and evaluation of injury prevention programmes. 18 Furthermore, injury surveillance can comprise a variety of data sources, from mortality and hospital discharge data to emergency department registry data, surveys and police, fire and ambulance records.This review suggests that violence and injury observatories are key to developing interventions that reduce the burden of injury in high-risk communities. We will use the term 'observatory' to denote a surveillance system that collects data from multiple sources, for example crime, clinical and forensic data, whereas injury surveillance systems almost exclusively focus on the use of injury data alone.In this article we will substantiate the following claims:• The observatories model is an internationally accepted tool that can provide a focused understanding of a particular issue or sub theme of violence.• The integration of violence and injury data may allow a comprehensive view of the existing burden of violence and injury within a community.• Observatories allow the opportunity to monitor current and prospective violence and i...

Yield of CT angiography in penetrating lower extremity trauma

“…Traumatic injuries and violence are amongst the leading global health challenges, placing an ever-increasing demand on healthcare systems, particularly in low-and middle-income countries [1][2][3][4]. Burgeoning interpersonal violence in Cape Town, South Africa (SA) has increased penetrating lower extremity injuries, as well as the use of CT angiography (CTA) for suspected arterial injury [5,6]. However, morbidity and mortality from penetrating extremity trauma (PET) are low when compared to blunt extremity trauma, arterial injuries of the trunk, and military combat injuries [2,7].…”

Is the introduction of violence and injury observatories associated with a reduction in violence-related injury in adult populations? A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In the area of international violence prevention approaches, there has been a growing interest on the part of governments, municipalities, research centres, civil society organisations and international organisations in creating observatories or analytical tools for security-related problems, including, but not limited to, school violence, domestic violence, drug use and social and gender violence 10Table 1 7 provides a sample of VIOs found globally.…”

Rationale and design of the violence, injury and trauma observatory (VITO): the Cape Town VITO pilot studies protocol

“…A fully functioning observatory will allow for the accumulation of electronically stored data, thereby providing the capacity to build a historical database. 10 Textual information, databases, historical trends in data and indicators, profiles, reports and other sources may convert the observatory into a powerful information and knowledge management centre. 10 …”

“… 10 Textual information, databases, historical trends in data and indicators, profiles, reports and other sources may convert the observatory into a powerful information and knowledge management centre. 10 …”