Existing Disparities in Injury-related Mortality Rates in China: A Public Health Challenge

Abstract

Injury-related mortality is a major public health concern worldwide. Globally, about 16,000 people die from injury-related causes every day. In China, after malignant tumors, cardiovascular diseases and respiratory disorders–injury ranks as the fourth leading cause of death. These mortality rates associated with injury are disproportionately higher according to demographic factors such as age, gender, geographical location, and occupation-demonstrating a need for public health interventions among these groups. Increase in injury-related mortality rate leads to loss of productivity and serious economic burden, such as 3.5 million hospitalizations with total annual economic loss of approximately U.S. $12.5 billion-almost four times the Chinese public health budget. Our paper aims to explore the current trends in the area of injury- related deaths, disparities associated with demographic factors along with cultural factors unique to China, and identify possible approaches that may reduce associated public health implications.

Our literature review identified problems in the existing injury prevention programs in China such as: (a) China has two mortality registry systems and both have high rates of missing data, problematic content validity, and persistent issues with data management; (b) There is a lack of knowledge among the public health practitioners who do not consider injury prevention as a public health goal, an area that requires immense improvement; (c) Neither do medical schools have any structured courses to deal with injury prevention nor does CDC consider this issue as a routine job; (d) There is a dearth of training programs for injury prevention at the provincial and central level, thereby, creating a shortage of specialized workforce; (e) Underreporting of Road Traffic Injury (RTIs) data especially in rural areas points to a surveillance system of questionable quality.

These existing disparities need to be addressed promptly with a particular focus on the rural population. Evidence-based models such as Haddon’s matrix and Public Health Approach may be used to develop injury control and prevention programs along with enforcement of strong governmental policies.