Violence-related deaths are a public health issue by virtue of the magnitude of their impact on society and on the health services. A study of the descriptive temporal trend was conducted using the official national information systems of violence-related mortality in Argentina and Brazil for the period from 1990 to 2010. Indicators were created to evaluate information quality by sex, age, and cause of death. The results demonstrate a temporal trend of improvement in the quality of the information systems. This trend is repeated especially when violence-related deaths are analyzed, with a decrease in the number of records for violence-related death of undetermined intent; as well as a high percentage of firearm-related deaths of undetermined intent in Argentina. The analysis of the quality of information systems regarding violence-related deaths makes it possible to detect problems and orient actions in order to obtain better quality information and therefore permit improvement in the creation of preventive public policies.
Violence; External causes; Information systems; Mortality statistics; Temporal trends
