Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit Team Members Publish Results of National Injury Surveillance System Review

Understanding the burden of injuries and violence, especially in low-and middle-income countries like China, where injuries account for more than 10% of all deaths and more than 30% of all potentially productive years of life lost (PPYLL) is essential for evaluating this public health problem and developing strategies to address it.  One effective way to do this is through the establishment of a specifically designed injury surveillance system.

The establishment of a specially designed injury surveillance system is widely seen as a key strategy for development and evaluation of injury prevention interventions, and while many high income countries (HICs) have injury surveillance systems in place, few exist in LMICs, and there was no independent data collection system specific to China before NISS.

Recently, Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JH-IIRU) team members, including director Adnan Hyder and research program coordinator, Siran He, along with JH-IIRU road safety colleague from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention China, Leilei Duan, published their key findings in the journal of Injury.

The team determined that NISS has been able to better monitor the distribution and trends of injury events, which in turn has allowed for better collecting and sharing of data on injuries and provides evidence for policy making and injury prevention.

Because NISS is the first hospital based system in China it has become crucial in determining the burden of injury in the country. It will also serve as reference for injury prevention-related policy making and a guide proper health resource allocation.

To access the full article, “The National Injury Surveillance System in China: A Six Year Review,” click here.