Patterns of injuries and injury severity among hospitalized road traffic injury (RTI) patients in Bangladesh

ObjectivesDespite much focus on the health impact of road traffic injury (RTI) on life, there is a lack of knowledge of the dynamic process of return to work following RTI and its related factors. The aim of this study was to identify longitudinal patterns of sickness absence (SA) following RTI, to examine the patterns’ interplay with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and to determine if there are differences, regarding the patterns and interplay, according to injury severity.DesignA register-based prospective cohort study.SettingAdministrative data on RTI in Sweden from the Swedish Traffic Accident Data Acquisition System (STRADA) and Swedish Social Insurance data.ParticipantsIndividuals suffering an RTI (total n=4761) were identified in STRADA between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2009. A total of 903 of these met the inclusion criteria for the current study and were included.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome measure was SA following RTI. The secondary outcome measure was HRQoL.ResultsThree distinct patterns of SA were identified; ‘Stable’, ‘Quick decrease’ and ‘Gradual decrease’. The patterns differed in the number of initial SA days and the rate of reduction of SA days. After 3 years, all three patterns had almost the same level of SA. Higher injury severity and a higher number of SA days had a negative interplay with HRQoL. Participants who initially had a higher number of SA days were more likely to report a low HRQoL, indicating that people with a slower return to work are more vulnerable.ConclusionThe study highlights the heterogeneity of return to work after an RTI. People with a more severe injury and slower pace of return to work seem to be more vulnerable with regards to HRQoL loss following RTI.

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A Comparison of Ordered and Unordered Response Models for Analyzing Road Traffic Injury Severities in the North-Eastern Turkey

Periodica Polytechnica Transportation Engineering ◽

10.3311/pptr.8782 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 119

Author(s):

Ali Kemal Çelik ◽

Erkan Oktay

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Road Safety ◽

Injury Severity ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Road Traffic Injury ◽

Response Models ◽

Traffic Injury ◽

Eastern Turkey ◽

North Eastern ◽

Injury Severities

Road traffic injuries are estimated to be one of the major causes of death worldwide and a majority of them occur in low- and middle income countries. In that respect, further studies that address to determine risk factors that may influence road traffic injury severities in the corresponding countries may contribute the existing road safety literature. This paper determines possible risk factors influencing road traffic injury severity in north-eastern Turkey. For this purpose, a retrospective cross-sectional study is conducted analysing 11,771 traffic accidents reported by the police during the sample period of 2008-2013. As the accident severity is inherently ordered, the data are analysed using both ordered and unordered response models. The estimation results reveal that several driver (age and education level), accident (speeding violation, avoiding manoeuvre and right-of-way rule), vehicle (bus/minivan, single-unit truck/heavy truck, private and single vehicles), temporal (time of day, morning peak, evening peak), environmental (summer and cloudy or rainy weather), geometry (asphalt road and road class type), and control characteristics (presence of crosswalk and traffic lights) were found to have an impact on injury severity. This paper is most probably the first attempt to analyse possible risk factors of road traffic injury severities in Turkey using both ordered and unordered response models. The evidence of this study may be valuable for future road safety policies in emerging countries.

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Road Traffic Injury During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cured or a Continued Threat?

University of Toronto Journal of Public Health ◽

10.33137/utjph.v2i1.34737 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nahomi Amberber ◽

Andrew Howard ◽

Meghan Winters ◽

M. Anne Harris ◽

Ian Pike ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Road Safety ◽

Injury Severity ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Road Traffic Injury ◽

Public Health Approach ◽

Road Transportation ◽

Traffic Injury ◽

Traffic Volumes ◽

Simultaneous Decrease

Road traffic injury, one of the leading causes of preventable morbidity and mortality in Canada, declined substantially as an indirect outcome of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health policies encouraging people to ‘stay at home’ and ‘practice physical distancing’ precipitated shifts in vehicle volumes and speed, transportation mode, and collision rates. Toronto data from January to June 2020 showed a decrease in road transportation, and a simultaneous decrease in road traffic collisions. However, reduced traffic volumes also led to increased vehicle speeds which can result in an increase in injury severity involving pedestrians and cyclists. As the pandemic progresses, an emphasis on safe, active transportation and equitable distribution of street infrastructure throughout the city is essential. A public health approach to road safety includes implementation of evidence-based road safety infrastructure enabled by access to timely transportation data to evaluate changes made.

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