Informe especial / Special

report

Using evidence on violence and injury

prevention for policy development and
decision making in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
Luis
LuisAlberto
Alexandro
Gutirrez,
Palacios,
Sergio Pacheco,2 Alethia Yurithzi Jurez,
3
1
and Maria Teresa Cerqueira
1

Suggested citation

abstract

Key words

Gutirrez LA, Pacheco S, Jurez AY, Palacios LA, Cerqueira MT. Using evidence on violence and
injury prevention for policy development and decision making in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Rev
Panam Salud Publica. 2012;31(5):36572.

This report describes the implementation process and functional structure of the Observatory of
Security and Citizen Conviviality of the Juarez Municipality (Observatorio de Seguridad y
Convivencia Ciudadanas del Municipio de Jurez) in Chihuahua, Mexico, and discusses the most
relevant lessons learned and main challenges in the near future. The Observatory, cre- ated in
2008, is a joint effort of the Juarez Municipal Government, Autonomous University of Ciudad
Juarez (Universidad Autnoma de Ciudad Jurez), and the Pan American Health Organization.
The Observatorys main objective is to propose strategies and public policy rec- ommendations to
prevent and control violence and injuries in the Juarez Municipality. Most key federal, state, and
local agencies have joined this independent autonomous citizen-based initiative, feed the
databases, and benefit from the information produced by a multisectoral, multidisciplinary
approach. The Observatory contributes far more than the technical data provided and its
facilitating functions. The clear results obtained in such a short timeas seen in the preliminary
results of the case study on road injuries from January 2009 to July 2011 demonstrate the
appropriateness of this course of action and should stimulate the creation of new observatories
whenever and wherever needed. Lessons learned, as discussed here, can open the way to new
Epidemiologic surveillance; violence; accidents, traffic; geographic information sys
endeavors, and current challenges show how much work remains to be done.
tems; border health; Mexico; United States.

Ciudad Juarez, at the United States Mexico 2007 to 2010 (2). During that period, the
border, the most populated of all
homicide rate increased from 23 to 224 per
municipalities in Chihuahua State, is 1 of the100 000 inhabitants, and in 2011 there were
10 largest cities in Mexico, with 1 332 131
still a very large number of deaths due to
inhabitants (1). Violence in the area
external causes [data from the Observatory
increased significantly from
of Security and Citizen Conviviality of the
1 United StatesMexico Border Office, Pan Ameri can
Juarez Municipality (Observatorio de
Health Organization, El Paso, Texas, United States of
Seguridad y Conviven cia Ciudadanas del
2America.
Observatorio de Seguridad y Convivencia Ciudada nas,
Municipio de Jurez) in Chihuahua,
Universidad Autnoma de Ciudad Jurez, Ciu dad
Mexico]. This situation triggered the
Jurez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Send correspon dence to:
3Sergio Pacheco, sergio.pacheco@uacj.mx
concerns and actions of lo cal, state, and
Instituto Municipal de Investigacin y Planea cin ,
Ciudad Jurez, Chihuahua, Mxico.
national authorities as well as involvement
of civil society.
Rev Panam Salud Publica 31(5), 2012 365

In spite of reports on homicides, vio lence,

death, and injury due to external causes,
scattered and faulty information made it
impossible to fully understand the
magnitude and characteristics of the
different types of violence, its roots, and the
mortality burden. Furthermore, critical data
on violence from differ ent sources were not
shared and infor mation was missing, thus
hindering a comprehensive analysis of
violence and injuries. These factors limited
the timely compilation of evidence for policy
and

decision makers to implement appropri ate ary analysis of problems by involving

THE OBSERVATORY: A
multiple sectors, including health, jus tice, MULTISECTORAL,
programs. The lack of multisector,
police, traffic, education, develop ment,
comprehensive, and timely information
MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECT
made it practically impossible to im prove housing, parks and recreation, and
Bringing together many institutions to focus
conditions in the community and for the citycommunity leaders and representa tives (4).
on one rather complex objective (Figure 1)
to prevent events leading to acts of violence In this framework, the Observatory of
was a challenging task be cause of the
such as partner violence, violence against Security and Citizen Conviviality of the
difficulty of building enough trust among
women, gang violence, child sexual abuse, Juarez Municipality was created in
the many stakeholders to share data for the
and road injuries. A historic meeting of civil November 2008 through the joint efforts of
Observatory. UACJ is a highly recognized,
society organizations with the public and the Juarez Municipal Government, the UACJ,
4
by vate
the Autonomous
University
Ciudad and PAHO through its United StatesMexicocredible, and respected institution in Ciudad
pri
sectors was convened
inof
2008
Juarez (Universidad Autnoma de Ciu dad Border Office. Most key agencies of Juarez Juarez and the fact that many leaders and
au thorities were trained there facilitated the
Jurez, UACJ), the municipal gov ernment, Municipality joined this independent
decision to place the Observatory on its
and the Pan American Health Organization autonomous citizen based initiative. The
premises. Support from PAHO and the
(PAHO) to identify key issues to be
setting for the Observatory in volved a core
municipal government was also a critical
addressed in public poli cies. Approximatelyinvestment so that many agencies could
factor in successfully setting up the
200 representatives of community
work together to im prove social conditions
Observatory. Other critical ele ments were
organizations as well as public and private in Ciudad Juarez and create effectively
the leadership and resources provided by
institutions and ex perts from PAHO, the
proven synergies. The Observatory uses a
UACJ, PAHO, and Juarez Municipality. The
National Center for Accident Prevention
comprehensive multi disciplinary approach
greatest barriers arose from the specific
(Consejo Na cional para la Prevencin de
that views violence and injuries as
Accidentes, CENAPRA), and the Colombian preventable pub lic health problems (5). The interests of each participating institution;
this problem was settled by reaching a
Institute for Research and Development in overall goals of the Observatory are to
consensus on which informa tion was to be
Vio lence Prevention and Promotion of Socialpropose strategies to prevent and control
most readily available and which posed the
Conviviality (Instituto de Investigacin y
violence and injuries and to de sign public
fewest conflicts, which led to considering
Desarrollo en Prevencin de Violencia y
policy recommendations to enhance citizen
road injuries as the starting point.
Promocin de la Convivencia Social,
safety and conviviality in the Juarez
CISALVA) convened to review the avail able Municipality. These goals are reached
Organization structure and input
information and propose immedi ate actions.through the evidence generated by the
Injuries from external causes were confirmedObservatory. Therefore, the Observatory hadinformation
as the main problem of this prosperous
to es tablish a reliable, flexible, timely, and The structure and components of the
municipality. It was clear that solving such a sustainable information system with the
Observatory are presented in Figure 2. The
complex problem re quired combined
support of authorities from participat ing Steering Committee oversees the strategies
multisector efforts and a credible source of institutions and civil groups. For a secure and progress of the Observa tory, works with
validated and well elaborated information. citizenry and a peaceful com munity, the
the Technical Secre tariat to coordinate and
This community consultation resulted in
Observatory should identify trends, provide ensure imple mentation of Observatory
several lines of action, one of which was the validated analyses of models and violence activities, and monitors execution of the
creation of an observatory to monitor
typologies, and produce sound indicators of strategic plan (5). The Steering Committee
violence, designed under the recommended the current situation. The information and defined the fields of action to cover all cases
guidelines of PAHO and CISALVA (3, 4).
analytical tools produced by this coordinatedof vio lence (particularly those against
Another recommenda tion was to implementeffort give a clear and comprehensive picturewomen, girls, boys, and adolescents),
evidencebased programs and policies to
of deaths due to external causes and a
homicides, occupational and road injuries,
prevent vio lence and injuries in key settings.detailed map of the hotspots of violence in crimes, and public perception of insecurity
Sev eral types of violence were identified: the municipality. This information system in the Juarez Municipality. The general idea
domestic violence (in homes and fami lies), also keeps track of appropriate indicators of the Observatory encompasses building a
bullying (in schools), occupational injuries and monitors the effect of public policies andsustainable data input network, with
(in the workplace), and delin quency and
interventions on the improvement in the
participation of agencies at all government
other types of violence (in the community). health and safety of the entire population. levels (fed eral, state, and local) in charge of
The known observatory method ologies
This report describes the implementa tion moni toring deaths and injuries due to
enable a more interdisciplin
process and functional structure of the
external causes, both intentional and
Observatory and discusses the most relevantaccidental. Nongovernmental organizations
4 Organizacin Panamericana de la Salud. Implemen
tacin y experiencia del Observatorio de Seguridad y
lessons learned and main chal lenges in the and in stitutions may also provide
Convivencia Ciudadanas del Municipio de Jurez,
near future.
information. The number of variables and
Chihuahua, Mxico. Manuscript in preparation.
records varies in the different Observatory
data
366 Rev Panam Salud Publica 31(5), 2012

FIGURE 1. Institutions participating in the Observatory of Security and Citizen

Conviviality of the Juarez Municipality, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, 2008
Juarez Municipal Gove r
nment of General Administrations
Coordination
General Municipal Tr affic Division
General Public Construction Wor ks
Administration General Public Services
Administration Institute for Integral Fa
mily Development Municipal Public
Security Secretariat Social
Communication Secretariat Informatics
Administration Municipal Institute for
Research and Planning General Ecology
and Civil Protection Admininistration
General Community Centers
Administration

State Gove rnment of

Chihuahua
Chihuahua
State Secretariat of
Health Forensic Medicine
Northern Zone Deputy Attorney s
Service
Office State Secretariat of
Education and Culture
Coordination of Safe Schools State
Office of Civil Pensions State
Chihuahua
Institute
of
Center
Against
Addictions
Health Womens

State Network of Organizations

Hospital
for the Prevention of Violence

bases, from 125 variables and some 20 000

records from death certificates is sued since
2008 to more than 11 variables and 1 200 000
traffic violations that have been recorded
since 2009.

Basic elements

Data collection and validation are the start of

an extensive and complex pro cess of
information management involv ing the
Observatorys comprehensive information
system, made up of five elements constituting
a shared techno logical infrastructure. The
Automated Indicator System (Sis tema
Nongove rnmental
Automatizado de Indicadores) makes
Institutions
Ciudad Juarez
Autonomous University
Federal Gove r
information exchange between participating

Pan
American
Health
Organization

nment
Fe deral Secretariat of Health
Institute for Research and Development
agencies swift and easy in a controlled,
National Center for the Prev
in Violence Prevention and Promotion
ention of Tr affic Accidents
secure environment. It of fers predefined
of Social Conviviality, Colombia
Ciudad Juarez Local Health
reports intended for pub lic viewing
Center
for
the
Prevention
and
Care
of
Jurisdiction II Citize ns
Department,
Women in Violent Situations Colegio
Participation Council of the
(http://datos.observatoriode
de la Fr ontera Norte Medical
Attorney Generals Office
Juarez.org:8080/sistemasai/DGTM/
Association Colegio de Chihuahua
Secretariat of Publ ic Education
reportes.aspx) and dynamic reports for
Red Cross
Mexican Institute of Social
Security National Attorney
authorized persons to obtain different per
Centers for Youth
Generals Office Fe deral Labor
spectives of a problem (http://datos.ob
Integration
and We lfare Secretariat
servatoriodeJuarez.org:8080/sistemasai/).
The geographic information system provides
FIGURE 2. Structure of the Observatory of Security and Citizen Conviviality of the charts and maps with georef erenced events
to allow municipal agen cies to carry out
Juarez Munici- pality, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, 2008
timely actions. For road injuries, for example,
Steering
the Observatory released public dynamic
Committee
Mayor of Ciudad
maps showing the wide range of incidences
Chief of the U.S.Mexican Border Office of
Juarez
in 2010 (http://mapas.observatoriodeJuarez.
President of the Autonomous University of
PAHO/WHO
Ciudad Juarez
org/transito2010/). The three remaining
basic elements are the website
General
Coordination
(http://observatoriode Juarez.org),
newsletters (http://obser
Technical Secretariat
vatoriodeJuarez.org/dnn/Boletines. aspx),
Technical
and a technical information re pository
A representative of the Committee for Analysis and
Secretary
A representative
of the Committee for Proposals and Analysis of
Information
Systems
CASE STUDY: ROAD INJURIES IN
(http://www.infofrontera.org).
Technical
Public
Policies
personnel

CIUDAD JUAREZ

Committee for Analysis and Information Systems Committee for Proposals

and Evalutaion of Public Policies
WorkgroupsWorkgroups
Sources of information Analysis
and presentation of information

Home and
family School

Information systems Technical reporting Community

Workplace

Note: PAHO/WHO: Pan American Health Organization/World Health

Organization.

Rev Panam Salud Publica 31(5), 2012 367

Road injuries, car crashes, and pe destrian

injuries are the most frequent and
preventable injuries due to external causes in
the world (6). In Mexico, road injuries are in
first place, causing more than 50% of
reported injuries in many urban areas (7, 8).
Although violence has an important impact
on all spheres of life at the U.S.Mexico
border, more rapid and effective results can
be achieved by preventing road injuries. The
World Report on Road Traffic Injuries (9) states
that road injuries are not randomly dis
tributed along roads; instead, they occur

at specific locations and intersections

gether with the Observatory and the Juarez in different formats, depending on the
depending on road conditions and con
General Municipal Traffic Divi sion, many variables used. Mapping road incidents
makes it possible to identify the most
ditions of drivers and passengers. Based on other local authorities par ticipate in the
frequent intersections involved (Figure 3).
trends, geographic distribu tion of hotspots, audits to evaluate each incident from
and structural and hu man variables linked different viewpoints, in cluding human and Traffic authorities (with other public servicerelated sections, urban develop ment, and
to reported road injuries, the Observatory social causes as well as road conditions.
provided a spa tial diagnostic of road
These audits are a key tool to study deaths research institutes) carry out joint audits at
incidents for 2009 and 2010 in the Juarez
and injuries due to traffic incidents from the these intersections and define the underlying
municipal area. Especially important for this security and public health perspectives. A setcauses and risk factors. These joint audits and
their analy ses helped local authorities
task along with collecting, validating, and of indicators was developed to evaluate
processing the input data from different
general road safety (Table 1). More than 50 implement informed and effective measures
sourcesare the joint road audits, in which variables were used to record data related to and interventions leading to a reduction in
CENAPRA provides the method ology and the incidents (location, time of occurrence, road injuries in the period 20092011. Most
measures and interventions implemented
certifies personnel as traffic auditors.
lighting, and road conditions), motor
CENAPRA, in collaboration with UACJ, also vehicles involved (category, make, model, were multisectoral and multidisciplinary. In
general, interven tions have included
offers training courses on a wide range of regis tration, insurance, brake, and tire
traffic topics and, together with PAHO,
condi tions), and persons involved (age, sex, structural aspects (repairing roads and
provides special ized equipment. Since the use of safety devices, type of injury). Data pedestrian over passes, constructing and
beginning of the collaboration between the have been compiled since January 2008. The repairing side walks), public order (installing
traffic signs; posting traffic officers to identify
Juarez General Municipal Traffic Division outputs provide crucial informa tion to
and fine drivers for speeding; enforcing the
and CENAPRA in 2009, these activities have reduce road injuries and promote road
use of seat belts, car seats, and hel mets; spot
increased considerably and road safety has safety. This information is provided
checking with a breathalyzer to identify
been technically strengthened. To
persons driving under the influence of
alcohol), and educational measures
TABLE 1. Indicators created by the Observatory of Security and Citizen
Conviviality of the Juarez Municipality, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, 2008 (campaigns for good driving practices)
among others. The reduction in road traffic
Indicator Road safety
accidents has been visible and sustained
(Figure 4). Although the best results are
Evolution of road incidents Rate of road incidents per 100 000 inhabitants
achieved with the combined effect of these
Rate of responsibility in road incidents per 1 000 motor vehicles, according
to type of vehicle Population density (km) Total road density Car
mea sures and interventions, their separate
ownership rate (motor vehicles per 100 000 inhabitants) Rate of road
analyses define important trends and relative
incidents per 100 000 inhabitants Rate of road incidents per 100 000
weights. Spot checking for per sons driving
private motor vehicles Rate of persons involved in road incidents per 100
000 private motor vehicles Rate of persons involved in road incidents per
under the influence of alco hol is one of the
100 000 inhabitants Rate of road incidents per 100 000 registered drivers
most effective measures. The analysis
Death rate per 100 incidents Death rate per 100 000 inhabitants Rate of
revealed that the number of incidents
injured persons per 100 incidents Rate of injured persons per 100 000
inhabitants Domestic violence Rate of child abuse per 1 000 persons
between January 2009 and June 2011
under 18 years of age Rate of domestic violence per 100 000 inhabitants
decreased significantly, show ing variations
Rate of sexual violence per 100 000 inhabitants Homicide Rate of
that coincided with fluc tuations in the antihomicides per 100 000 inhabitants Rate of femicides per 100 000
inhabitants Death rate due to firearms per 100 000 inhabitants Maps
alcohol enforcement operation (Figure 5). The
created for each of the eight sectors of the city General statistics of traffic
observed bian nual peaks (MayJune and
incidents Frequency of traffic incidents due to crashes Intersections with
December) have yet to be explained. Though
carpedestrian crashes and rollover accidents Intersections according to
type of involvement in road incidents: responsible and affected
the decline in the number of road injuries is a
Intersections according to condition of victims of road incidents: injured
multifactor event and it is not clear how
and dead Statistics of intersections Areas and intersections with a high
much of this reduction can be attributed to
frequency of road incidents Statistics of main thoroughfares Main
thoroughfares with incidents in 2010
the Observatorys recommendations or
specific interven tions, these preliminary
results may re flect that the information
provided by the Observatory and
collaborating agen cies not only permitted
the identification of road injury trends and
their causes but also triggered a new type of
collabo ration that resulted in improved
safety and health of the citizens.

368 Rev Panam Salud Publica 31(5), 2012

FIGURE 3. Map of reported road accidents in sector C of Ciudad Juarez,

Chihuahua, Mexico, 2010; red zone shows intersections with the highest
frequencies of road injuries

LESSONS LEARNED AND

CHALLENGES

The use of observatories in collecting and

analyzing information on relevant
epidemiologic issues as well as propos ing
and monitoring measures to im prove
population health and safety is well
established (4, 5, 10, 11). Violence is a major
cause of high morbidity and mortality in
many countries, thereby becoming the target
of observatories that focus on domestic and
gender violence (1215), armed social
violence (10, 16), juvenile violence (17), and
crime (18). Regardless of the type and scope
of observatories, procedures are similar in
that they collect information, validate and
analyze data, write reports, and dis seminate
Frequency of
accidents
results. The Observatory fol lows that
procedure. The number and type of
indicators vary among observatories,
depending on their scope and the area
covered. In any case, every observatory must
Source: Observatory of Security and Citizen Conviviality of the
contin uously analyze information and
Juarez Municipality.
include new indicators when advisable,
depend ing on the situation and context. One
of the most complete sets of indicators in our
FIGURE 4. Dynamics of the frequency of traffic incidents by sector, Ciudad Juarez,
region is that of the Hemispheric
Chihuahua, Mexico, 20072010
Observatory on Citizen Security (19). The
experience of the Juarez Observa tory has
Number of road
shown that even in complex situations,
incidents
208590
academic institutions, inter national
591973
9741 353
organizations, and diverse gov ernmental
and nongovernmental insti tutions and
Factors contributing
to the Observato
rys
organizations
can combine
efforts and
Year
success can be summarized as follows:
collaborate.
2007
2008
2009
2010

Source: Observatory of Security and Citizen Conviviality of the

Juarez Municipality.

Rev Panam Salud Publica 31(5), 2012 369

Combination
of
the
the municipal
politicalgovernment
will
of and UACJ, the
convening power of PAHOs tech nical
cooperation, and the technical expertise of
CISALVA;

Permanent
commitment
of
the
mem bers of the
Steering Committee and Technical
Secretariat, with joint partic ipation of staff
from the PAHO U.S. Mexico Border Office,
UACJ, and the Juarez Municipality and
support from
other institutions
and

Resources
contributed
stakeholders;
PAHO,by
and the UACJ,
Juarez Municipality
during the implementation phase;

Acknowledgment
of
contributions
of
the
Observatory
and
its
the
important
local, statewide, national, and in
ternational benefits;

;
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2;
FIGURE 5. Frequency of road incidents with participation of
drivers,
1drunk
140
1 s t
d e g r e e
2 n d
number
officers
T
o t ofa traffic
l
A p rSeptember
i l
2 0 0
2009: start of

Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, January 2009

July 2011

g r e e 3 r d
r e d u c t i

d e
n

g r
i n

117

120

anti-alcohol
operations, 3 days a
week

100

82 93

Num
ber 80

May 2011: anti-alcohol

operations suspended for several
days because of reduction in
number of traffic officers

94
April 2010: number of
anti-alcohol operations
increased to 5 days a
week

77 72

of
incid
62 64
ents
60

64

50 49 47

March 2011: antialcohol operations

suspended several
days because of flu
outbreak

44 53
48 40
43 40

31 41
40

35 28

22 34

37 38

35 31

29 37

39

20

2009
2009
2009
2009
20092009
20092009
2009
2009
2009
20092010
2010
2010
2010
20102010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2011
2011
20112011
2011
2011
2011
J a n F e b M a r A p r M a y J u n J u l A u g S e Jan
p O Jan
ct NovDec FebMar AprMay JunJul Aug Sep Oct
N o v D e c Fe b M a rA p r M a y J u n J u l
Year, month

Source: Observatory of Security and Citizen Conviviality of the Juarez Municipality, Automated Indicator System with data provided by
a Alcohol intoxication degree, measured in percentage of milligrams of alcohol per liter of blood (blood alcohol concentration, BAC): 1st degree,
General Municipal Traffic Division.
0.090% to 0.139% BAC; 2nd degree, 0.140% to 0.229% BAC; 3rd degree, 0.230% or higher BAC.

Generation
of

Including
information

Expanding
and
information
on
the
magnitude
of
the
sources
to
provide
a
more
compre
hensive
of
indicators
and
working
variables;
relevant and
critical
from
new
standardizing
the
set
Ensuring
the
burden of violence and injuries, thereby
analytical view and increase the scope of
participation
of
all
creating visibility and aware ness at many the measured events;

Formulating
improved
in
stitutions
in
the
analysis
and use
government levels and in many sectors;
that respond
the needs and require
action to plans
of information and not only in providing

The
high
spirit
of

Reducing
underreported
ments of the institutions and commu
data; and
participating
institutions,ofconsidering
conveyed
to thenot
authorities.
cooperation
all
events
nity, ensuring the use of the informa tion
that the Observatory is a common as set;
produced;

Ensuring
the
CONCLUSIONS AND
and

Significant
community
to strengthen
and guarantee
availability
of the well
RECOMMENDATIONS
participation.
functioning
of participating institu tions
resources
To enhance the impact of the Observa tory,
The Observatory of Security and Citi zen
and the Observatory;

Strengthening
the
many challenges remain:
Conviviality of the Juarez Munici pality
participating
institutions,ofwhich are
infrastructure
all the provides evidence on different types of

Continuing
technological
backbone of the Observatory;
violence and injuries that affect the

Improving
the
improve ment (software and
population and reveals risk factors and main
and operational
for better data
conceptualdefinitions
framework
hardware) in all institutions and increasing
causes. Its sustained conven ing power and
quality and analyses;
technical knowhow of staff;
validated outputs have

370 Rev Panam Salud Publica 31(5), 2012

cal institutions are the driving force at all

shown that it is a proven and qualified voice sustainability, these institutions must be
times. In fact, this may be the strongest
advocating for the implementation of
motivated through ownership and
policies and programs to strengthen
participate fully. Resources are essential for recommendation for similar projects.
conviviality and reduce insecurity in Juarez sustain ability, as the Municipal Institute for
Acknowledgments. The authors thank all
Municipality. The Observatory contributes Research and Planning is strongly de
governmental and nongovernmental
far more than technical data and its
pendent on municipal budgets and all
institutions and organizations partici pating
facilitating functions. Lessons learned will participating institutions are affected by
in this project. Special thanks go to the
open the way to new endeavors and current economic restrictions. By strengthening the
authorities of the Juarez Munici pal
challenges show how much work is still
analytical capacity of the Observa tory and
Government and its local branches, UACJ,
needed. But the clear results obtained in
enhancing the reach of informa tion to a
and PAHO for their fundamental work and
such a short time demonstrate the
wider audience, it may gain the needed
involvement. We thank Alicia Rodrguez for
appropriateness of this course of action and sustainability. Although the support and
her assistance in writing this article.
should stimulate the creation of new
participa tion of the federal government is
observatories whenever and wherever
impor tant, it should not become a barrier to Conflict of interest. Authors LAG, SP, AYJ,
needed. A crucial condition for the Observa local capacity building and decision mak ing.and MTC were professionally involved in
tory is the sense of ownership of all par
Federal government bodies normally want tosetting up or working at the Observatory of
ticipating institutions; although UACJ
have the leading voice; a critical lesson in
Security and Citizen Conviviality of the
provided the building block for future
this case was to ensure that lo
Juarez Municipality.

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Special report Gutirrez

for
policy

et
al.
development

resumen

Uso de informacin sobre

prevencin de la violencia
y las lesiones para la
formulacin de polticas y
la toma de decisiones en
Ciudad Jurez, Mxico

Palabras clave

372 Rev Panam Salud Publica 31(5), 2012

Use

of

evidence on

violence and

injury

prevention

En este informe se describen el proceso de ejecucin y la estructura funcional del

Observatorio de Seguridad y Convivencia Ciudadanas del Municipio de Jurez, Chi
huahua, Mxico, y se presentan las enseanzas extradas ms relevantes y los princi
pales retos en un futuro prximo. El Observatorio, creado en el 2008, es un emprendi
miento conjunto del gobierno del municipio de Jurez, la Universidad Autnoma de
Ciudad Jurez y la Organizacin Panamericana de la Salud. El objetivo principal del
Observatorio es proponer estrategias y recomendaciones de polticas pblicas para
prevenir y controlar la violencia y las lesiones en el municipio de Jurez. La mayora de
los organismos clave federales, estatales y locales se han sumado a esta iniciativa
autnoma independiente de origen ciudadano, alimentan las bases de datos y se be
nefician de la informacin generada por el Observatorio mediante un enfoque multi
sectorial y multidisciplinario. El Observatorio aporta mucho ms que datos tcnicos y
estrategias facilitadoras. Los claros resultados obtenidos en un tiempo muy breve
como los resultados preliminares del estudio de casos sobre lesiones en el trnsito
llevado a cabo entre enero del 2009 y julio del 2011 demuestran lo adecuado de este
procedimiento y deben estimular la creacin de nuevos observatorios dondequiera y
cuandoquiera que se necesiten. Las enseanzas extradas analizadas en este informe
Vigilancia
epidemiolgica;
violencia;
accidentes
trnsito;
sistemas
allanan
el camino
hacia nuevos
cometidos,
y los de
retos
actuales
ponen de
de informacin
manifiesto que
geogrfica;
salud
fronteriza;
Mxico;
Estados
Unidos.
an resta mucho trabajo por hacer.