(s abstract): Statement of the Problem: Although multiple public agencies collect data relevant to injury surveillance, no comprehensive system currently exists for data collection and analyses of non-hospitalized, non-fatal injuries in Colorado or of follow-up after injury hospitalization. The long-term objective is the development and implementation of a comprehensive electronic injury surveillance system (E.I.S.S.) linking pre-hospital and Department of Safety data to the Denver Health trauma registry, incorporating geospatial analysis as a tool to improve the comprehensiveness, usefulness, and accessibility of the surveillance system, and providing a model for other locales to enhance public health infrastructure. ? ? Methods/Specific Aims: A mixed quantitative/qualitative approach will address the following alms: (1) identify, evaluate, and establish pre-hospital sources of motor vehicle traffic-related injury data; (2) identify, evaluate, and establish linkages between pre-hospital data sources and a local integrated health care system's trauma registry to create an E.I.S.S.; (3) use a Geographic Information System (GIS) utility to analyze temporal and spatial aspects of motor vehicle traffic-related incidents; (4) share GIS findings as a guide to areas of motor vehicle traffic-related injury intervention activities; and (5) develop a multi-agency workgroup to develop a collaborative community for injury surveillance efforts. ? ? Evaluation: The investigator will evaluate aspects of this injury surveillance system including the ability and feasibility of linking disparate data systems, utility of the aggregate database for targeting motor vehicle-traffic incidents, feasibility of replicating the model in other parts of Colorado, and process of working with stakeholders to develop and implement this E.I.S.S. ? ? Implications for Prevention: Surveillance of injuries at the local as well as the state levels is essential to set research priorities and to target and evaluate prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation efforts. This proposal will ultimately improve targeted intervention capacity at a local public health level using an innovative approach to enhance injury surveillance activities, and provide a model for other local health agencies. ? ?
