Citation

Botha L. Afr. Safety Promot. 2014; 12(2): 1-9.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In the year 2000 about five million people around the world died as a result of injuries due to violence or unintentional causes, while the numbers for those hospitalized or treated and discharged were, respectively, 30 times and 300 times as high (Suffla, van Niekerk, Bowman & Matzopolous, 2008). South Africa, is one of a number of countries for which very high rates on injury and violence have been recorded. The impact of these have been far reaching, e.g. the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR, 2001) reported that the medical costs for violent injuries alone was estimated at R4,7 billion at the time. Despite the high incidence of violence and injuries in South Africa, and the negative effects they have on social and economic development "there remains a scarcity of effective, replicable and contextually congruent injury interventions" in this and other lower income contexts (Eksteen, Bulbulia, van Niekerk, Ismail & Lekoba, 2012, p. 499). It is no wonder that the South African Department of Health and its partners have called for 'an integrated strategic framework for the prevention of injury and violence' as well as the 'prioritisation of evidence-based intervention, investment in surveillance systems, and improved human resources and management capacity' (Mayosi et al., 2012, p. 12). 1While an evidence-based response to violence and injury prevention is certainly desirable, there is still the danger that initiatives in countries such as South Africa may be compromised by inappropriate Eurocentric models that are not fully cognisant of the significance of cultural, financial and infrastructural factors (Seedat, 2002). The development of a 'safe communities approach' in an African context, may offer an instructive model for constructing contextually relevant research-based interventions for safety, peace and health promotion...

Language: en