A study on road traffic injuries a disaster in Sri Lanka
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Date
2008
Authors
Dassanayake, T. D. M. S. B.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Peradeniya
Abstract
Road Traffic Crashes (RTC) are becoming an ongoing progressive disaster causing injuries, deaths, loss of quality of life due to disabilities and property losses leading to short term and long term impacts to the individuals and to the society. This has become a burden which is neglected both locally and globally. Therefore this disaster is progressing in days, years and decades loosing thousand of lives and millions of properties and quality of the life of people. This study was designed under the objectives of to identify the injuries caused by road traffic crashes, to identify the disabilities caused by road traffic crashes, to identify the most vulnerable age group to the road traffic crashes and to describe the socio demographic characteristics of the injured road users (1096 cases).
A survey was conducted in the Accident Service of the National hospital of Sri Lanka Colombo. Data was collected on patients admitted to the Accident Service as injured road users for two months period. The collected data was analyzed using special purpose statistical software (SPSS). The results shows that more than 75% were Sinhalese and Buddhists out of the recruited cases. Muslim community has come to the second in number while Tamils came to third. More injured road users reported in the areas where the developed road structures present with the vehicle and population density is high.
75% of victims were between age 20-50. Most vulnerable or high risk age group was 20-29 according to the study.
In case of injury and disability males were high in number but percentage wise both sexes were almost same. The common injury site was the head and the common injury type was fractures, Lower limb was the common fracture site. Injury site and type were same in both sexes in percentage.
A broad spectrum of injuries was developed among the injured road users. 90% of injured road users presented a kind of disability which was categorized as permanent, long term or short term.
As road traffic crashes affect good health of people causing direct and indirect socio- economic problems showing common features of a disaster, RTC was recommended as a disaster.
Description
Keywords
Earth sciences , Science in disaster management , Road traffic crashes