Implementing a hospital based injury surveillance system: a case study in Nigeria

Abstract

A pilot study of violent injury surveillance was implemented in two hospitals in Kano, Nigeria, in two phases: a formative evaluation including training and arranging the collection of hospital information, followed by a 6 month prospective data collection. Road traffic injuries constituted about 80 per cent of the cases, gunshot injuries were the commonest in victims of interpersonal violence (IPV). The causes and context of IPV, the relationship of victims and perpetrators, and the place, related activities and anatomical site of injuries from IPV are summarized.

Keywords:

• hospital based injury surveillance
• interpersonal violence
• Nigeria
• violence and injury prevention

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the seed funds from the Foreign Affairs Department of Canada that helped to initiate this project. Also, we are grateful to the Small Arms Survey that supported the later part of this project that brought it to completion. The co-operation and support of the Chief Medical Directors and staff of the participating hospitals are much appreciated.