Citation

Matzopoulos R. Inj. Saf. Mon. 2002; 1(1): 3.

Affiliation

Crime, Violence and Injury Lead Programme

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Medical Research Council of South Africa)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

National vital statistics last reported an analysis of non-natural deaths by manner of death and external cause in 1991, and there are no indications that such reporting will be reinstated in the near future. In 2000, the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System (NIMSS) Annual Report for 1999 was released, which provided the first semi-national profile describing the epidemiology of non-natural deaths since 1991. The NIMSS database provides information about the external causes of fatal injuries (e.g. gunshots, sharp instruments, pedestrian motor vehicle accidents) by victim age, sex, population group, spatial and temporal characteristics of the events, and alcohol involvement. The information is critical for monitoring demographic, seasonal and socio-economically related trends in such major causes of death as homicide, motor vehicle accidents, burns, falls and drowning.