[Epidemiological surveillance of homicides and suicides. A report on the Cali workshop].

Underregistration of homicides and suicides is a problem that exists in most of the countries of the region, owing to the variety of ways these causes are coded and analyzed, insufficient funding for information management, and lack of trained personnel, of coordinated data collection, and of a non-centralized system for issuing reports. The health sector plays an important role in recording information about violent acts, but the information collected and evaluated by the health services is usually limited to the sex and age of the victim, the nature of the injuries, and, occasionally, the type of weapon or means of aggression. The morbidity and mortality statistics compiled by the services do not reflect the true magnitude of the epidemiologic problem of violence because of, among other reasons, underreporting in emergency rooms and outpatient clinics. In addition, victims--for example, those who experience violence within their families--often do not seek services at health institutions.