Road traffic accidents and injuries, 2018: a multi-centric epidemiological study from India

Yogita Sharma; Ponnaiah Manickam; Kamalabai R. John; Jugal Kishore; Daya K. Mangal; Rajesh Singh; Ashish Joshi; Bontha V. Babu

doi:10.18502/fem.v8i4.17081

Yogita Sharma Socio-Behavioural, Health Systems & Implementation Research Division, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India.
Ponnaiah Manickam ICMR - National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, India.
Kamalabai R. John Apollo Institute of Medical Science & Research, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Jugal Kishore Vardhman Mahavir Medical College &Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Daya K. Mangal Indian Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur, India.
Rajesh Singh Garhwal Community Development and Welfare Society, Tehri-Garhwal, India.
Ashish Joshi Foundation for Health Technologies Society, New Delhi, India.
Bontha V. Babu Socio-Behavioural, Health Systems & Implementation Research Division, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/fem.v8i4.17081

Keywords: Epidemiology; India; Road Traffic Injuries; Trauma; Surveillance

Abstract

Objective: Road traffic injuries (RTIs) have been recognized globally as an important public health problem. Effective road safety initiatives should address the traffic system as a whole to find a solution and look at the traffic system as a collective to discuss interactions between vehicles, road users and road infrastructure. Therefore, epidemiological data from different geographies of the country should be available. Hence, an electronic-based comprehensive and integrated RTI surveillance system was established in five centres located across the country to assess the burden of RTIs, including the outcome.

Methods: This paper is a cross-sectional multi-centric study conducted using an electronic-based comprehensive and integrated RTI surveillance system.

Results: A total of 15,319 participants were enrolled under the surveillance of road traffic events for a period of one year. Self-fall/skid was the most common (34.87%) type of accident, followed by a crash between two vehicles (25.77%) and a crash with a pedestrian (16.59%). Among them, 88.94% were the injured, who were alive with or without rehabilitation, and 673 (4.43%) were dead. Mostly, two-wheelers (geared or non-geared) were involved in the accident as they shared a significant portion (75.54%) of the total accidents.

Conclusion: The study highlights the epidemiological issues related to road accidents and RTIs that need to be addressed in order to find appropriate solutions for reducing the RTI burden. It gives an understanding of the manner of trauma, the pattern of injuries, and the outcome of road traffic accidents required to adopt efficient preventive and comprehensive trauma care.