Accidentes y violencia en México: un problema de salud en los albores del tercer milenio

Resumen

Summary This work presents a transversal, descriptive analysis of mortality by accident, homicide, and suicide in Mexico from 19941998. The three represent the fourth leading cause of death in the country and 12% of all deaths, thus constituting one of the principal health problems to resolve and a challenge of prime importance for health attention in the third millenium. We observed that the tendency toward accidents during this period showed a decrease; motor vehicle accidents continued to be the principal cause of death. On the other hand, aggression as well as suicide tended to be a growing problem. In 1994, a rate of 41.37 deaths due to accidents among 100,000 inhabitants; by 1998, this rate had diminished to 36.76. The male: female ratio at this time was 3.3:1. The Northern State of Mexico presented the highest rates of mortality, and at the same time perceived the lowest indicator in the group of 5-14 years-olds in the country. Due to the previously mentioned information and the priority that these damages to health entail, integral intervention actions must be instrumented that are supported by studies and research such as this paper, in addition to specific or case research that provides certainty concerning the effectiveness of the means to reduce these problems. Outstanding is the proposal to establish a political action agenda that allows for the implanting of strategies to combat intentional as well as unintentional external injuries.