M.MSc. (Med.), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009 / Violence is a hidden problem in most communities, yet it is among the leading causes of
death and non-fatal injury worldwide. It is an essential public health issue for every country
and needs to be addressed as a matter of priority. While rural areas of South Africa are
believed to be safer than urban areas, they are not necessarily safe per se.
The main objective of this study is to examine the burden of fatal violent injuries on a rural
South African community. The violent deaths data used in this report were collected through
a verbal autopsy (VA) process during the period 1992 to 2000 in Agincourt, Bushbuckridge, a
rural area in the north-eastern part of South Africa with a population of about 69 000 people.
Person-years data for the same period, obtained from the Agincourt Health and Demographic
Surveillance System (AHDSS), were used for the denominator in the computation of rates.
Violence accounted for 5.9% (170/2 859) of deaths from all causes in the Agincourt area
between 1992 and 2000. Of the 170 violent deaths, 68.2% were due to assault while the
remaining 31.8% were suicides. The proportion of violent deaths, as proportion of deaths
from all causes, is highest in the 15–19 year age group (20.9%, compared to 1.0% amongst
those under the age of 15 years and 2.0% among those 60 years and older). The small number
of victims in each age group results in wide confidence intervals. The violent deaths
proportion, as a proportion of deaths from all causes, is higher in males (9%) than in females
(2.3%).
Violence levels appear to be higher among South Africans than among self-settled former
Mozambicans, though the observed difference between these two populations is not
statistically significant. However, a statistically significant difference is found between levels
of death due to assault among migrants and permanent residents. To address this situation, violence prevention strategies and programmes need to be put in
place to reduce violence. However, more research is required in order to identify more risk
factors associated with violent behaviour, to study the identified risk factors, and to inform the
development of these programmes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/7452 |
| Date | 17 November 2009 |
| Creators | Mosiane, Malerato Adelaide Nthamane |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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