Objective: To evaluate the performance of national injury surveillance in China and provide evidence for the utilization and interpretation of surveillance data and the improvement of injury surveillance.
Methods: According to the national injury surveillance protocol, a retrospective analysis was conducted on the quality of injury surveillance carried out by the centers for disease control and prevention (CDCs) at all levels in China from 2006 to 2012. And related human resource and budget data in 2012 were collected for analysis.
Results: From 2006 to 2012, the injury cases reported to national injury surveillance system increased by 1 time in China. The underreporting rate of injury cases and mis-filling rate of reporting cards decreased in 31 surveillance points (72.1%) and 23 surveillance points (53.5%) respectively. In 2012, the underreporting rates were less than 10% in 33 surveillance points (76.7%) , and the mis-filling rates were less than 10% in 39 surveillance points (90.7%) . Only 19 provincial CDCs (44.2%) and 32 county/district CDCs had full time staff engaged in injury surveillance. Three surveillance points (7.0%) never published their injury surveillance data, while 13 surveillance points shared injury surveillance data with other departments.
Conclusion: The quality of injury surveillance was greatly improved in China during 2006-2012, but more efforts are still needed for the further improvement of national injury surveillance, including the increase of human resources and fund investments and more use of surveillance data.