Development and piloting of the Fiji Injury Surveillance in Hospitals System (TRIP Project-1).

INTRODUCTION: Whilst more than 90% of injury related deaths are estimated to occur in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), the epidemiology of fatal and hospitalised injuries in Pacific Island Countries has received scant attention. This study describes the development and piloting of a population-based trauma registry in Fiji to address this gap in knowledge.

METHODS: The Fiji Injury Surveillance in Hospitals (FISH) system was an active surveillance system designed to identify injuries resulting in death or a hospital admission in Viti Levu, Fiji. During the pilot conducted over five months in 2005, Accident and Emergency registers, admission folders and morgue registers from 8 of Viti Levu's 12 hospitals, and an additional 3 hospitals in other parts of the country were reviewed by hospital staff and medical students to identify cases and extract a minimum data set that included demographic factors; the mechanism, nature and context of injury; substance use; and discharge outcomes. The system was audited to identify and redress difficulties with data quality in a manner that also supported local capacity development and training in injury surveillance and data management.

RESULTS: This pilot study demonstrated the potential to collect high quality data on injuries that can pose a significant threat to life in Fiji using a mechanism that also increased the capability of health professionals to recognise the significance of injury as a public health issue.

CONCLUSION: The injury surveillance system piloted provides the opportunity to inform national injury control strategies in Fiji and increase the capacity for injury prevention and more focused research addressing risk factors in the local context.