Lesiones de causa externa

In recent years, it has become increasingly more common to find that the declarations, resolutions, and documents of various organizations contain an appeal to improve, update, and develop valid, timely, useful, and representative information on external causes of injury (ECI).Almost all of the United Nations' specialized agencies, including its General Assembly, have underscored its importance with the same urgency.One key example is the report of the World Health Organization (WHO) on violence and health, which takes a public health approach to violence prevention, examining violence's forms, magnitude, risk factors, and affected population groups, by age and gender.In addition, this 2002 report outlines nine recommendations for the various sectors charged with violence prevention and control, and has guidelines for use at the national and international levels (1).Other key documents are the WHO and World Bank joint report on road traffic injury, published in 2004, which underscores the need to carry out scientifically-validated interventions aimed at roadway users, vehicles, and the environment (2); and the United Nations Secretary General 2006 report on violence against women, which spotlights this type of violence as a form of discrimination and a violation of human rights (3).Moreover, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 2006 report on violence against children constitutes the first global study of this problem.The report-produced with input from boys, girls, and teens-concludes that countries simply do not possess enough consolidated data regarding violence against children, which requires information that is basic, timely, and must be disaggregated by sex, age, ethnicity, geographic location, etc. (4).All the documents stress the magnitude and severity of the problem and emphasize the need to improve data available on injuries, be they intentional (violent) or unintentional (accidental).In the Region of the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States of America, among other health organizations, have understood the challenge and have taken action in this regard.This state of affairs is due to inconsistency and a lack of standards in the data that traditionally has been managed by the groups charged with compiling and analyzing information on deaths by homicide, suicide, domestic violence, traffic accidents, fire, drowning, poisoning, and others.The same is true in cases of nonfatal sexual assaults, violence against women, child abuse, and other injuries that affect the health and lives of the individuals directly involved, as well as their families.Without accurate information on the circumstances, parties involved, the times, and locations of the injury event, appropriate and efficient corrective steps and preventive measures cannot be put into place.Fortunately, there are now proven tools and experiences that can help bridge the information gaps seen in many countries.Guidelines have been published and distributed, courses created, and the codes for ECI are available in the 10th Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health Related Problems (ICD-10) (5).In addition, the International Classification of External Causes of Injury (ICECI) has been adopted and takes into account information registered on whether the incident was intentional or not, where it took place (data needed and used for geographic plotting and local reference), the means and the object that produced the injury, the activity in which the individual was engaged when the incident occurred, the relationship between the assailant and the victim (when applicable), and data on possible risk factors (such as alcohol or drug use and access to firearms) or protective factors (such as the use of a helmet or seatbelt) involved in the act (6)

Humanities · Medical Malpractice and Liability Issues · Medicine · Occupational Health and Safety Research · Philosophy · Traumatic Ocular and Foreign Body Injuries

• Violência contra a criança

  Open Access•Márcio Dênis Medeiros Mascarenhas, Deborah Carvalho Malta et al.•Cadernos de Saude Publica•2010

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