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Practical Solutions for Injury Surveillance at Mass Gatherings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Kathryn Zeitz ,
Chris Zeitz ,
Paul Arbon ,
Fiona Cheney ,
Renee Johnston  and
James Hennekam
Kathryn Zeitz*
Affiliation:
Chief Nursing Officer, St. John Ambulance Australia SA Inc., Australia
Chris Zeitz
Affiliation:
State Medical Officer, St. John Ambulance Australia SA Inc., Australia
Paul Arbon
Affiliation:
Professor of Nursing (Population Health), Flinders University; Chief Commissioner, St. John Ambulance Australia Inc., Australia
Fiona Cheney
Affiliation:
St. John Ambulance Australia SA Inc., Australia
Renee Johnston
Affiliation:
St. John Ambulance Australia SA Inc., Australia
James Hennekam
Affiliation:
St. John Ambulance Australia SA Inc., Australia
*
St. John Ambulance Australia SA Inc. 85 Edmund Avenue Unley 5061 South Australia E-mail: chief.superintendent@stjohn.org.au
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Abstract

Introduction:

Public safety at mass gatherings is the responsibility of multi-ple agencies. Injury surveillance and inter-agency communication are pivotal to ensure continued public safety.

Objectives:

The principal objective of this pilot study was to improve the identification of trends and patterns of injury presentations at mass gather-ings. This was achieved through an electronic process for data gathering to support timely reporting of injury data. In addition, what evolved was the devel-opment of an inter-agency communication model to support information transfer.

Methods:

An Electronic Injury Surveillance System was created and piloted at two mass gatherings in South Australia. Live, real-time data were collect-ed via customized software supported by electronic report generation.

Results:

The Injury Surveillance System captured data on 181 injured patients and assisted in the identification of trends and patterns of presenta-tions. The relevant injuries and patterns of injuries were reported to the appropriate organizations based on pre-defined communication models.

Conclusions:

The pilot study demonstrated that it was possible to perform “live”, portable injury surveillance during patient presentations at two mass gatherings. The Injury Surveillance System ensured immediate data capture. Well-defined communication systems established for this pilot also enabled early action to rectify hazards. Further development of electronic injury sur-veillance should be considered as an essential tool for managing public safety at mass gatherings.

Keywords

injury surveillancemass gatheringpublic safety
Type
Research Article
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , February 2008 , pp. 76 - 81
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2008

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