Abstract
BackgroundPaediatric, pedestrian road traffic injuries (PPRTIs) constitute a major cause of premature death in Iran. Identification of high-risk areas would be the primary step in designing policy intervention for PPRTI reduction because environmental factors play a significant role in these events. The present study aims to determine high-risk areas for PPRTIs at three different geographical scales, including the grid network, the urban neighbourhood and the street levels in Mashhad, Iran during the period 2015–2019.MethodsThis cross-sectional retrospective study was based on all pedestrian accidents with motor vehicles involving children (less than 18 years of age) between March 2015 and March 2019 in the city of Mashhad, which is the second-most populous city in Iran. The Anselin Local Moran’s I statistic and Getis-Ord Gi* were performed to measure spatial autocorrelation and hotspots of PPRTIs at the geographical grid network and neighbourhood level. Furthermore, a spatial buffer analysis was used to classify the streets according to their PPRTI rate.ResultsA total of 7390 PPRTIs (2364 females and 4974 males) were noted during the study period. The children’s mean age was 9.7 ± 5.1 years. Out of the total PPRTIs, 43% occurred on or at the sides of the streets, 25 of which labelled high-risk streets. A high-high cluster of PPRTI was discovered in the eastern part of the city, while there was a low-low such cluster in the West. Additionally, in the western part of the city, older children were more likely to become injured, while in the north-eastern and south-eastern parts, younger children were more often the victims.ConclusionsSpatial analysis of PPRTIs in an urban area was carried out at three different geographical scales: the grid network, the neighbourhood and the street level. The resulting documentation contributes reliable support for the implementation and prioritization of preventive strategies, such as improvement of the high-risk streets and neighbourhoods of the city that should lead to decreasing numbers of PPRTIs.
Highlights
Paediatric, pedestrian road traffic injuries (PPRTIs) constitute a major cause of premature death in Iran
Various factors play a role in accidents implicating paediatric pedestrians, which can be divided into the two general categories with regard to the cause: personal and environmental factors [3,4,5], where the latter is the most important
These factors include traffic volume, population density, urban design, socioeconomic status and, importantly, the existence or non-existence of safe passageways [5,6,7]. It seems that the primary steps in designing any intervention to reduce the number of accidents would be the identification of high-risk locations where the environmental factors can be characterized and documented in a way that leads to the implementation of preventive strategies
Summary
Paediatric, pedestrian road traffic injuries (PPRTIs) constitute a major cause of premature death in Iran. Various factors play a role in accidents implicating paediatric pedestrians, which can be divided into the two general categories with regard to the cause: personal and environmental factors [3,4,5], where the latter is the most important This is a reflection of a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) that emphasises that the main risk factors for pedestrian accidents are due to the immediate environment [5]. These factors include traffic volume, population density, urban design, socioeconomic status and, importantly, the existence or non-existence of safe passageways [5,6,7]. It seems that the primary steps in designing any intervention to reduce the number of accidents would be the identification of high-risk locations where the environmental factors can be characterized and documented in a way that leads to the implementation of preventive strategies
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