Challenges of establishing a road traffic injury surveillance system: a qualitative study in a middle-income country.

Sakineh Sharifian,Reza Khani Jazani,Homayoun Sadeghi‐Bazargani ,Davoud Khorasani‐Zavareh

doi:10.5249/jivr.v11i2.1228

Abstract

:Background:Establishing effective road traffic injury surveillance is an important priority for low- and middle-income countries since a large proportion of fatal road traffic injuries occur in these countries. A surveillance system can coordinate the activities and compile the data gathered by all road safety organizations. This study aims to explore the challenges of establishing road traffic injury surveillance based on the stakeholders’ experiences. Methods:This is a qualitative content analysis study that was performed in 2018 in Iran. The study was conducted through interviews with 13 participants and employed purposeful sampling. Data generation was continued until concept saturation.Results:Five main categories and 17 sub-categories were identified including: policy-making (legal authority, stakeholders, content policy and plan); process (collection and recording, analysis and interpretation, dissemination and feedback); resources and infrastructure (technology, staff, structure, finance); coherence and coordination (communication, dispersion, cooperation, consensus); and context (socio-cultural, political).Conclusions:By creating a clear structure for a road traffic injury surveillance system, identifying data collection systems and stakeholders in the field of road safety and injury prevention, determining a clear goal for improving road safety, and formulating policies for the dissemination of road traffic crash data among stakeholders, it will be possible to overcome the obstacles to establishing a surveillance system for road traffic injury.

Highlights

In Iran, Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are the second major cause of death according to the World Health Organization (WHO) report and the burden of road traffic injuries derives from accidents involving motor vehicles and predominantly affected economically productive age groups.[3]
According to the participant viewpoints, lack of custodianship in road safety is a challenge in establishing road traffic injury surveillance
There is an urgent need for a recognition and prioritization of strategies for road safety promotion and injury prevention

Summary

Introduction

Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a major issue in the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).[1,2] In Iran, RTIs are the second major cause of death according to the World Health Organization (WHO) report and the burden of road traffic injuries derives from accidents involving motor vehicles and predominantly affected economically productive age groups.[3]. 180 Injury & Violence main problems with designing and implementing fatal and non-fatal road traffic injury prevention strategies is the lack of actual and qualified related data.[5,6,7] The literature has emphasized the importance of precise and reliable data in influencing road safety policy and any preventive activities.[8,9,10] Along with collecting qualified data; analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of health information and getting feedback to the beneficiaries must be considered.[11]. Results: Five main categories and 17 sub-categories were identified including: policy-making (legal authority, stakeholders, content policy and plan); process (collection and recording, analysis and interpretation, dissemination and feedback); resources and infrastructure (technology, staff, structure, finance); coherence and coordination (communication, dispersion, cooperation, consensus); and context (socio-cultural, political). Conclusions: By creating a clear structure for a road traffic injury surveillance system, identifying data collection systems and stakeholders in the field of road safety and injury prevention, determining a clear goal for improving road safety, and formulating policies for the dissemination of road traffic crash data among stakeholders, it will be possible to overcome the obstacles to establishing a surveillance system for road traffic injury

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion