Commentary

The Utstein template for uniform reporting of data following major trauma: A valuable tool for establishing a pan-European dataset

Karim Brohi

Trauma and Vascular Surgery, Barts and the London NHS Trust, London, UK

author email corresponding author email

Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine 2008, 16:8doi:10.1186/1757-7241-16-8

Published:	28 August 2008

First paragraph (this article has no abstract)

Trauma is a public health problem of global importance. Central to any public health approach in tackling a disease is research, and central to any research is high quality data. Trauma systems – local, regional, national or international – are driven by the completeness and quality of data they collect and analyze. The performance improvement cycle of system assessment, policy development and quality assurance is dependent on the informatics infrastructure that supports it. Solid, quality data is a powerful tool in improving care, for clinicians, administrators and politicians.