Estimating road traffic accidents and injuries in Enugu Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Road traffic injuries are a growing public health and development problem1. In this paper, we examined the trend and impact of road traffic injuries using evidence from our hospital records. This evidence shows how serious the problem of road traffic injuries is at present and indicates that it will become worse if no appropriate action is taken.

Methods: Case notes of patients with Road Traffic Accident (RTA) admitted at National Orthopaedic Hospital Enugu, (NOHE) which is a regional Trauma Centre in Nigeria between Jan 1 2011 and January 1 2015 were retrieved and analyzed.

Result: There were a total of One Thousand Nine Hundred and Six (1906) victims with a total of One Thousand Six Hundred and Seventy Seven (1677) admissions. There were One Thousand Four Hundred and Nine (1409) males and Four Hundred and Ninety Seven (497) females with a male: female ratio of 2.8:2. One Thousand Six Hundred and Eighty Six (1686) victim's accident occurred within the city while two Hundred and Twenty (220) victims had their accident intercity. 9 An analysis of the occupation of the victims showed students to be the most vulnerable group with motorcycle as the victims' mode of transport. Most of these accidents occurred in months of May and June with a second peak occurring within March and April and these periods correspond with the period of students' end of session exams and Easter festivities. Most of our patients had no pre-Hospital treatment before arriving as a result of our inadequate health system and victims were rescued by passers-by using commercial vehicles as a mode of transport.

Conclusion: We therefore recommend the following: development of infrastructure in academic institutions in this country to reduce the incidence of students travelling from various areas of abode in busy city centers to places of lectures, consideration of regulation such as speed limit, protective gear, road signs, training and retraining of Federal road safety corps members as first responders

Keywords: Developing Country, Magnitude, Mitigation ,Road Traffic Injuries, Public Health