A profile of injuries in Jamaica.

Abstract

This study analyses 6 months of data from three hospitals participating in the computerized emergency room-based Jamaica Injury Surveillance System (JISS) since 1999. The categories of injuries tracked were unintentional, violence-related and motor vehicle-related. The resultant data showed that injuries comprised 17% (12,179) of all Accident and Emergency (A&E) department registrations for the period. The highest percentage of injuries were violence-related (51%, 6,380), followed by unintentional injuries (33%, 4,030) and motor vehicle-related (15%, 1,769). Injury profiles varied by institution with the majority of Cornwall Regional Hospital's and Kingston Public Hospital's injuries being intentional while that of May Pen Hospital was unintentional. The data also demonstrate that young males are at highest risk for all types of injuries as well as for the more severe injuries requiring hospital admission. The risk factor data provided through the JISS will inform and guide private and public sector efforts to address the problem of injuries in Jamaica.