Violence-related mortality and morbidity of humanitarian workers.
OBJECTIVE
(1) To determine the rate of violence-related deaths, medical evacuations, and hospitalizations occurring to national and expatriate staff of participating humanitarian organizations; (2) to describe the distribution of all-cause and cause-specific mortality and morbidity of humanitarian workers with regard to possible risk factors.


METHODS
Surveillance study of field-based humanitarian workers; data were regularly collected from headquarters of participating organizations via e-mail and telephone between September 2002 and December 2005.


METHODS
Eighteen humanitarian organizations reported on any death, medical evacuation, or hospitalization of any national or expatriate staff for any cause, in any field location during the study period.


METHODS
None.


METHODS
Risk of violence-related events was calculated as the number of deaths, medical evacuations, and hospitalizations during the study period divided by the total number of field staff for organizations that had staff in those countries where events occurred to the staff of any participating organization. Distribution descriptions are presented as simple proportions.


RESULTS
Risk of violence-related deaths, medical evacuations, and hospitalizations was six per 10,000 aid worker person-years. Fifty percent of intentional violence cases were lethal. Intentional violence accounted for 55 percent of all deaths reported, followed by coincidental illness (27 percent) and accidents (15 percent).


CONCLUSIONS
Aid worker deaths in this group were more frequently caused by intentional violence than either accidents or coincidental illness. The rate of six intentional violence events per 10,000 person-years can be used as a baseline by which to track changes in risk over time.
Rowley
Elizabeth A
EA
Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Crape
Byron L
BL
Burnham
Gilbert M
GM
D002423:Cause of Death; D005551:Foreign Professional Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007390:International Agencies; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D012066:Relief Work; D012307:Risk Factors; D012637:Security Measures; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*