Citation

Herbert M, Mackenzie SG. Paediatr. Child Health (1996) 2004; 9(5): 306-308.

Affiliation

Injury and Child Maltreatment Section, Health Surveillance and Epidemiology Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Canadian Paediatric Society, Publisher Pulsus Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

19657512

PMCID

PMC2721185

Abstract

The Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) began in 1990 with all ten children’s hospital emergency departments. The program was devised to provide a new source of information on injuries that would complement already available surveillance data on fatalities and hospital admissions. It complements these by including injuries treated in emergency departments, many of which are relatively minor, although some are serious. CHIRPP was specifically designed to enhance injury prevention efforts by including data on the circumstances in which injuries occurred. Detailed information on “what went wrong” helps prevention partners focus their efforts. Paediatricians are an essential component of this partnership and need to be aware of what CHIRPP has to offer.

Although CHIRPP collects information on a wide range of injuries, including poisonings and intentional (abusive and self-inflicted) injuries, its main focus is unintentional injuries.

Paediatric health care professionals are among the important audiences for information from CHIRPP. This information may be obtained directly from the program (by phone or on the web) or may come indirectly through organizations such as the Canadian Paediatric Society, injury prevention centres, and nongovernment organizations such as Safe Kids Canada. All these organizations use the data to gain a better understanding of how injuries occurred, with a view to identifying hazards and developing preventive strategies. The media are also frequent users of CHIRPP data.

In addition to the original 10 paediatric facilities, CHIRPP also collects information at several general hospitals. Current CHIRPP centres include 14 hospitals and one northern health station located in all but two provinces and one territory in Canada. Despite these changes, the majority of CHRPP data relate to children.

Language: en