 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Barbara F. Chatterjee, MS, Isaac Romero, BS, and Ajoy Kumar, MBBS, MPH. Office of Epidemiology, New Mexico Department of Health, P.O. Box 26110, 1190 S. St. Francis Drive, Santa Fe, NM 87502-6110, (505) 476-3563, barbarac@doh.state.nm.us
Firearm injury was designated as a condition reportable to the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) effective January 2000. The Emergency Department-New Mexico Firearm Injury Surveillance System (ED-NMFISS) for firearm injury visits to hospital EDs was established at that time. 2002 was first year in which all non-federal hospital Emergency Departments (ED) and at least one Native American ED reported on all eligible cases to the system. Methods: ED-NMFISS receives a paper report on 14 variables for each ED visit; upon receipt, it is keyed into an EPI-Info database. The first two years were used for system development. Annual reports, published since 2000, always describe the firearm type (determined from the wound), the body region(s) affected, and the discharge status (outcome) from the ED visit. Demographics, residence, and treatment date are also analyzed. The major barrier is the paper form; a secure electronic transmission system is being tested in 2003 to replace it. Results: 2002 provisional data show that about 560 incident ED visits plus records for 30 transfers to a second NM ED were collected. Of these, 362 were non-fatal injuries from gun powder-propelled firearms, and another 92 cases were of BB/pellet gun injury. These latter were sustained primarily by children <15 years. About 50% of ED visits were treated and released from the EDs. Conclusions: ED-NMFISS provides non-fatal gun-related injury data for program and policy making, and is presently the only ED surveillance system for injuries in NM.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Injury, Emergency Department/Room
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.