Related Experiment Videos
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.
Southern Medical Journal
|April 1, 1998
Summary
Newspapers are not a reliable source for intentional injury surveillance. They significantly underreport incidents like assaults and suicides, while inaccurately inflating firearms-related events.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Injury Prevention
Background:
- Newspapers previously aided unintentional injury surveillance.
- This study evaluated newspapers for intentional injury surveillance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the reliability of newspaper reports for intentional injury surveillance.
- To compare newspaper data with official records.
Main Methods:
- Compared newspaper accounts of assaults, homicides, suicides, and rapes in Jefferson County, AL (1991) with official data.
- Examined data from governmental agencies responsible for documenting violent events.
Main Results:
- Newspapers significantly underreported suicides, rapes, and assaults.
- Firearms-related incidents were overreported in newspapers compared to official records.
Conclusions:
- Editorial processes exclude valuable injury surveillance information from newspapers.
- Newspapers are neither a valid nor reliable source for intentional injury surveillance.