Are newspapers a viable source for intentional injury surveillance data?
P R Fine1, C S Jones, J M Wrigley
1Injury Control Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 35294-2041, USA.
Background:
Previous researchers have reported that newspapers were useful adjuncts to unintentional injury surveillance efforts in a nearby southern state. The current study sought to determine whether newspaper accounts of intentional injuries could provide a reliable source of primary or secondary surveillance data.
Methods:
Newspaper accounts of assaults, homicides, suicides, and rapes occurring in Jefferson County, Alabama, between January 1, 1991, and December 31, 1991, were compared with similar data from official governmental agencies whose responsibility it is to investigate and/or document the occurrence, details, and characteristics of violent events resulting in death or injury.
Results:
Newspapers greatly underreported suicides, rapes, and assaults, and reported firearms-related incidents in numbers that substantially exceeded their actual occurrence.
Conclusions:
Much information of potential value for injury surveillance purposes appears to be excluded from newspapers by editorial process and policy. Thus, newspapers are neither a valid nor reliable source for intentional injury surveillance purposes.
Related Concept Videos
02:16Surveys
01:22Healthcare Associated Infections II: Preventive Measures
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...
01:20Personal Protective Equipment
01:11Pulse Assessment Sites
01:22Burn Injuries
The damage results in the death of skin cells, which can lead to a massive loss of fluid. Dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and renal and circulatory failure follow, which can be fatal. Burn patients are treated with intravenous fluids to offset...
01:21Types of Reports II: Incident or Occurrence Report
Purposes:
In the healthcare industry, reports play a crucial role in documenting incidents within an agency. The primary objective of these reports is to ensure patient safety, uphold the...