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From an epidemiology perspective, several limitations are
apparent in the current state of injury research. The major
issues are summarized here. Many of the issues affect injury
monitoring. For example, there are few gold standards in injury
epidemiology, which results in many different approaches to
defining the problems of injuries. Where standards exist, such
as E-codes, they are not available everywhere.
Existing data systems are often difficult to integrate together.
Crime-based systems do not always assess injuries. Emergency
medical transport systems do not always match up with emergency
department or hospital admission records. This makes tracking of
injuries events through medical systems very difficult to do. It
probably is better to study the natural history of injuries
through population-based studies.
Also, population-based studies of injuries are relatively
infrequent in number. Most of our current understanding is based
upon persons who are injured. We know little about how they
differ from those who are not injured.
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