Injury control in Honduras: a survey of injury mortality

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.

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.

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.

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.