Next Steps for CDC’s Short ICECI

This pilot study suggests that CDC’s short ICECI, in its current form, can be useful as a surveillance tool for obtaining external-cause-of-injury data from hospital ED records and can serve as a basic instrument for coding external-cause-of-injury data in national, state, and local ED surveillance systems. As mentioned previously, CDC’s short ICECI is being adapted for use in capturing intent of injury and mechanisms of injury in the newly expanded NEISS All Injury Program.

Modifications to CDC’s short ICECI will improve its usefulness and efficiency in capturing and coding high-quality data. We plan to develop version 2.0 of CDC’s short ICECI based on findings from this pilot study. Revisions will improve the data collection form; instruction manual with case definition, coding rules and definitions, and guiding principles for coding; and the training module with coding guidelines and practice exercises. After further pilot testing and refinement of version 2.0, CDC’s short ICECI will be made available in electronic and hard copy forms. Injury researchers and public health professionals should find CDC’s short ICECI to be a useful tool for injury surveillance activities at the local, state, and national levels in the United States, and internationally.