Injury control in Honduras: a survey of injury mortality.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to evaluate the methods and accuracy of mortality data collection and summarize the injury mortality rate in one sector of the State of Olancho, Honduras, with the intent to establish a baseline of injury mortality that will identify potential areas of intervention and serve as a comparison after subsequent interventions.


METHODS
Mortality data were collected from a rural, regional, health center database containing age, sex, and cause of death for one geographic sector in the State of Olancho, Honduras. Causes of death were classified as medical or intentional versus nonintentional injury.


RESULTS
Accurate mortality data were difficult to obtain for several reasons: (1) deaths are often recorded by untrained health care workers, (2) causes of death are not coded in a standard manner, and (3) infant mortality is underreported. We found 132 recorded noninfant deaths. A disproportionate number of these resulted from injury, especially from intentional injury, particularly among male subjects aged 12 to 49 years. Eighty-two percent of male subjects aged 12 to 49 years who died did so from injuries, and 52% died from intentional injuries. Overall, 48% of all male deaths were injury related. The estimated male mortality rate (age 12 to 49 years) from injuries was 4.5 times that of the United States.


CONCLUSIONS
Injury, particularly intentional injury, is an important cause of mortality in rural Honduras, particularly among male subjects aged 12 to 49 years. This suggests a fertile opportunity for intervention. More reliable data collection will be necessary to accurately target which specific causes of injury death are most amenable to interventions and to monitor the effect of injury control programs.
Richman
M
M
Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA. mrichma@emory.edu
Shayne
P
P
Heron
S
S
Lowery
D
D
Todd
K H
KH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006721:Honduras / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control