Injury modules in national surveys as a source of injury data in low and middle income countries (Injury Prevention)

Background The importance of reliable data for planning, monitoring and evaluating injury prevention interventions is unquestionable; lack of reliable injury estimates undoubtedly affects governments` ability to recognise the seriousness of the issue and to effectively address it. This is now becoming more urgent as more than one of the recently adopted post-2015 sustainable development goals call for a safer environment.1 Initiatives such as the Global Burden of Disease and WHO`s Global Health Estimates have attempted to fill this information gap at global, regional and national levels.2 3 They apply statistical methods to available reported data from countries to generate mortality and morbidity estimates for external causes of injuries. Remarkably, those estimates have consistently pointed to the public health threat posed by injuries in low and middle income countries (LMIC). For example, the most recent estimates revealed disability-adjusted life year rates that were...