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Executive Summary (37 KB)
Table of Contents & Foreword (137 KB)

1. Introduction (252 KB)
2. Purpose of the Guidelines (129 KB)
3. Rationale (23 KB)
4. Magnitude of the Problem (509 KB)
5. Epidemiological Surveillance (ES) (1092 KB)
6. Objectives of an ESS (22 KB)
7. Design & Steps for Setting Up an ESS (1316 KB)
8. Evaluation of an ESS
    Part I (31 KB)
    Evaluation of an ESS, Part II (2831 KB)
    Evaluation of an ESS, Part III (494 KB)
9. Recommendations for Reporting Information on Injuries (926 KB)
10. Observations on Selected Cases (1515 KB)

Annexes (Methodology & Glossary), References (166 KB)

WHO Guidelines for Violence & Injury Prevention
- WHO/VIP

Guidelines for the Epidemiological Surveillance
on Violence and Injuries

These guidelines were prepared in response to the need observed in various countries of the Americas where the increase in intentional and unintentional injuries has become a pressing social and public health problem.

The fundamental purpose of these guidelines is to promote and guide the creation of epidemiological surveillance systems on violence and injuries, using the definition and universally accepted concepts of epidemiological surveillance that have been applied to other types of public health problems to support knowledge, analysis, and decision-making about the control and prevention of these problems.

These guidelines put emphasis on two distinct aspects:

1. Focus on the local level—that is, the municipios—as the administrative and political arena in which the ESS and prevention projects should be carried out, with the two activities—surveillance and prevention—planned in a coordinated manner. Such projects can then be linked with similar endeavors at the regional and national levels.
2. The formation of networks among those working in epidemiological surveillance systems and injury prevention. There is no doubt that intersectoral coordination and collaboration of groups with common objectives not only improves the possibilities of success for projects such as these, but is also indispensable in dealing with such eminently social problems. Networks are a mechanism of coordination and support that make the work more productive.

For a global perspective, see the WHO Guidelines for Violence and Injury Prevention, a complementary document from the WHO Department of Violence and Injury Prevention (VIP).