Declining trends in injuries and ambulance calls for road traffic crashes in Bahrain post new traffic laws of 2015

Muyssar Sabri Awadhalla; Govindaraj Vaithinathan Asokan; Amina Matooq; Richard Kirubakaran

doi:10.1016/j.jegh.2016.02.004

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Volume 6, Issue 2, June 2016, Pages 59 - 65

Declining trends in injuries and ambulance calls for road traffic crashes in Bahrain post new traffic laws of 2015

Authors

Muyssar Sabri Awadhalla^a^{, *}^,msabri@uob.edu.bh, Govindaraj Vaithinathan Asokan^b, Amina Matooq^c, Richard Kirubakaran^d

^aUniversity of Bahrain, College of Health Sciences, Nursing Department-WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Development, P.O. Box: 32038, Salmanya, Bahrain

^bCollege of Health Sciences, University of Bahrain, PO Box 32038, Salmanya, Bahrain

^cInternational Training Centre, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Development, College of Health Sciences, University of Bahrain, PO Box 32038, Salmanya, Bahrain

^dSouth Asian Cochrane Center and Network, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India

^*Corresponding author at: Head Nursing Department, Director WHO CC for Nursing Development, College of Health Sciences, University of Bahrain, Salmanya, Bahrain. Mobile: +973 39665108; Office: +973 17435743; fax: +973 17242485.

Corresponding Author

Muyssar Sabri Awadhallamsabri@uob.edu.bh

Received 21 October 2015, Revised 31 December 2015, Accepted 22 February 2016, Available Online 16 March 2016.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2016.02.004 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Epidemiology; Injuries; Road traffic crashes
Abstract: Road traffic crashes (RTC) are of serious global health concern. To identify whether the number of ambulance calls, injuries, and deaths has declined after the implementation of the new traffic law (NTL) 2015 in Bahrain, de-identified administrative RTC data obtained from the tertiary care center, and the General Directorate of Traffic (GDT) of Bahrain were used. A quasi-experimental design was employed to trend the impact of the NTL on RTC and associated healthcare events. Bahrainis and non-Bahrainis who met with RTC, either in a vehicle or as a pedestrian, between February 8 and May 8 in 2013, 2014 (pre NTL), and 2015 (post NTL) were included in the study. Our results show a reduction in the number of ambulance calls from vehicular and pedestrian RTC victims. The ambulance calls from pedestrian RTC victims were <10% compared to the number of ambulance calls from vehicular RTC victims. There was a significant reduction in minor injuries post 2015, whereas no obvious difference was seen for serious injuries and deaths. A longer follow-up study to confirm the sustained decline in RTC, enforcing a zero tolerance policy toward traffic transgressions, and raising public awareness on the “critical four minutes” and “golden hour” is recommended.
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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Journal: Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
Volume-Issue: 6 - 2
Pages: 59 - 65
Publication Date: 2016/03/16
ISSN (Online): 2210-6014
ISSN (Print): 2210-6006
DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2016.02.004 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Cite this article

ris enw bib

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Muyssar Sabri Awadhalla
AU  - Govindaraj Vaithinathan Asokan
AU  - Amina Matooq
AU  - Richard Kirubakaran
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/03/16
TI  - Declining trends in injuries and ambulance calls for road traffic crashes in Bahrain post new traffic laws of 2015
JO  - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
SP  - 59
EP  - 65
VL  - 6
IS  - 2
SN  - 2210-6014
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2016.02.004
DO  - 10.1016/j.jegh.2016.02.004
ID  - Awadhalla2016
ER  -

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