Reforming Iran’s Trauma Registry: Policy Strategies to Strengthen Data Systems and Reduce Injury Burden

The National Trauma Registry in Iran, as one of the fundamental pillars of the injury management system, faces major challenges in data quality. To address these challenges, six policy options are proposed, each targeting different aspects of improving the trauma registration system.

The first option is the mandatory establishment of trauma registration centers in tertiary hospitals, integrated into the accreditation system with dedicated funding. This solution strengthens the long-term sustainability of the registration system by establishing legal foundations and ensuring the allocation of financial resources. However, its implementation may face resistance from hospital managers due to increased administrative burden and structural challenges in budget allocation.

The second option, performing periodic data audits, is a short-term and low-cost solution that would identify systematic errors and improve data quality. The success of this option requires training a specialized workforce and managing resistance from centers to external inspections.

The third option, integrating the National Trauma Registry (NTRI) with hospital systems, would improve the efficiency of the registry by reducing human errors and increasing data accuracy. However, it would require significant initial investment and extensive staff training.

The fourth option, developing national standards based on international TR-DGU standards, would enable comparability of Iranian data with advanced global systems. This would require careful localization and retraining of staff due to structural differences between the Iranian and German health systems.