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

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.

A multinational injury surveillance system pilot project in Africa.

This paper describes the development of a pilot project to test the implementation of an epidemiological surveillance system for intentional (violent) and non-intentional injuries, at emergency departments in selected hospitals in five African countries applying the World Health Organization's guidelines. We outline obstacles and opportunities encountered during the process. By definition, a surveillance system systematically collects, reviews, and evaluates information to understand the context in which specific injuries occur.