Road-Traffic Injuries: Confronting Disparities to Address a Global-Health Problem

This article considers the perspective of road-traffic injuries as a public health priority. Current research suggests that the present and projected global burden of road-traffic injuries is disproportionately borne by countries that can least afford to meet the health service, economic, and societal challenges posed. The authors review the characteristics of the rise in road-traffic injuries and present an evidence-based approach to prevent road-traffic crashes. The authors note that many interventions do not focus on efforts to protect vulnerable road users, such as motorcyclists and pedestrians, even those these groups comprise the majority of road-traffic victims in low-income and middle-income countries. The authors conclude by calling for surveillance systems that can enable countries to monitor patterns of injuries and the effects of preventive strategies. Such systems should capture not only traffic deaths, but also non-fatal outcomes, in light of the potentially catastrophic effects of non-fatal injuries on families and communities who must care for these individuals.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/01406736
• Authors:
  • Ameratunga, Shanthi
  • Hijar, Martha
  • Norton, Robyn
• Publication Date: 2006-5-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: pp 1533-1540
• Serial:
  • The Lancet
  • Volume: 367
  • Issue Number: 9521
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0140-6736
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01406736

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash injuries; Developing countries; Fatalities; Low income groups; Motorcyclists; Pedestrian safety; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Pedestrians; Socioeconomic factors; Traffic crash victims
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01041256
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 30 2007 1:28PM