A call to action. Violent deaths are preventable when information is available

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Emergency Medicine
• Sociology

Background:

• Interpersonal violence poses a significant challenge to public health systems.
• Existing data collection methods may not capture the full scope or nuances of violence incidents.
• Timely data is essential for understanding injury patterns and emerging public health issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the critical role of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in public health surveillance of interpersonal violence.
• To emphasize the importance of collecting specific variables at the point of care to enhance violence analysis.
• To advocate for the integration of EMS-collected data into broader public health strategies for violence reduction.

Main Methods:

• Leveraging the unique position of EMS providers as first responders to collect data.
• Integrating the collection of specific interpersonal violence variables with routine EMS data.
• Establishing ongoing data collection mechanisms for continuous surveillance.

Main Results:

• Early data collection by EMS enhances the validity and richness of interpersonal violence analysis.
• This data provides crucial insights into the cost of violence to the healthcare system.
• Timely information aids in identifying shifts in injury patterns and emerging problems, such as novel weapon use.

Conclusions:

• EMS providers are uniquely positioned to augment public health surveillance of interpersonal violence.
• Collecting data at the scene is vital for accurate analysis and effective violence prevention planning.
• Without this enhanced data collection, public health systems face significant challenges in planning and evaluating violence reduction efforts.