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 Unsafe road conditions contribute to injury

Trauma registries have not been established in most developing countries, and where they exist, they are often rudimentary and incomplete. Through a collaboration between the Department of Surgery and the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center, we designed and implemented a hospital based trauma surveillance registry at KCH utilizing an expanded minimal data set, in which trained personnel use a 1-page registry form capturing demographic characteristics, injury causation, treatment and outcome. We have demonstrated the feasibility of establishing an effective trauma registry using limited resources and without a sophisticated software package.. Analysis of our data collection is ongoing With these data, we can implement focused injury prevention strategies and programs based on epidemiology, geography and injury prevalence and patterns, thereby extending our surveillance program to other central and district hospitals.

Publications

J Qureshi, R Ohm, H Rajala, C Mabedi, O Sadr-Ozadi, A Andren-Sandberg, AG Charles. Head injury triage in a sub Saharan African urban population (2013). International Journal of Surgery, 11(3):265-269.

JC Samuel, E Sankhulani, JS Qureshi, P Baloyi, C Thupi, CN Lee, WC Miller, BA Cairns, AG Charles. (2012). Under-reporting of road traffic mortality in developing countries: application of a capture-recapture statistical model to refine mortality estimates. PLoS One, 7(2):e31091.

MM Kiser, JC Samuel, SE McLean, AP Muyco, BA Cairns, AG Charles (2012). Epidemiology of pediatric injury in Malawi: Burden of disease and implications for prevention. International Journal of Surgery, 10(10):611-617.

JC Samuel, ELP Campbell, S Mjuweni, AP Muyco, BA Cairns, AG Charles. (2011). The epidemiology, management, outcomes and areas for improvement in burn care in central Malawi: an observational study. Journal of International Medical Research, 39(3): 873-879.

JC Samuel, A Akinkuotu, P Baloyi, A Villaveces, AG Charles, CN Lee, WC Miller, IF Hoffman, AP Muyco. (2010). Hospital-based injury data in Malawi: strategies for data collection and feasibility of trauma scoring tools. Tropical Doctor, 40(2): 98-99.

JC Samuel, A Akinkuotu, A Villaveces, AG Charles, CN Lee, IF Hoffman, WC Miller, P Baloyi, M Hoffman, LB Brown, AP Muyco. (2009) Epidemiology of injuries at a tertiary care center in Malawi. World Journal of Surgery, 33(9): 1836-1841.