Brazilian road traffic fatalities: a spatial and environmental analysis.
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2014
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Road traffic injuries (RTI) are a major public health epidemic killing thousands of people daily. Low and middle-income countries, such as Brazil, have the highest annual rates of road traffic fatalities. In order to improve road safety, this study mapped road traffic fatalities on a Brazilian highway to determine the main environmental factors affecting road traffic fatalities. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Four techniques were utilized to identify and analyze RTI hotspots. We used spatial analysis by points by applying kernel density estimator, and wavelet analysis to identify the main hot regions. Additionally, built environment analysis, and principal component analysis were conducted to verify patterns contributing to crash occurrence in the hotspots. Between 2007 and 2009, 379 crashes were notified, with 466 fatalities on BR277. Higher incidence of crashes occurred on sections of highway with double lanes (ratio 2∶1). The hotspot analysis demonstrated that both the eastern and western regions had higher incidences of crashes when compared to the central region. Through the built environment analysis, we have identified five different patterns, demonstrating that specific environmental characteristics are associated with different types of fatal crashes. Patterns 2 and 4 are constituted mainly by predominantly urban characteristics and have frequent fatal pedestrian crashes. Patterns 1, 3 and 5 display mainly rural characteristics and have higher prevalence of vehicular collisions. In the built environment analysis, the variables length of road in urban area, limited lighting, double lanes roadways, and less auxiliary lanes were associated with a higher incidence of fatal crashes. CONCLUSIONS: By combining different techniques of analyses, we have identified numerous hotspots and environmental characteristics, which governmental or regulatory agencies could make use to plan strategies to reduce RTI and support life-saving policies.
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de Andrade, Luciano, João Ricardo Nickenig Vissoci, Clarissa Garcia Rodrigues, Karen Finato, Elias Carvalho, Ricardo Pietrobon, Eniuce Menezes de Souza, Oscar Kenji Nihei, et al. (2014). Brazilian road traffic fatalities: a spatial and environmental analysis. PLoS One, 9(1). p. e87244. 10.1371/journal.pone.0087244 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15376.
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Catherine Ann Staton
Catherine Staton MD MSc
Dr. Staton is a Professor in Emergency Medicine (EM), Neurosurgery, Population Health & Global Health with tenure at Duke University. She is the Director of the GEMINI (Global EM Innovation & Implementation) Research Center and the EM Vice Chair of Research Strategy & Faculty Development. Her research integrates innovative implementation methods into health systems globally and locally to improve access to acute care. In 2012, with an injury registry at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center, Tanzania Dr. Staton demonstrated 30% of injury patients had at risk alcohol use, providing preliminary data for a K01/Career Development Award. Her K01 award adapted a brief alcohol intervention to the KCMC ED and Swahili. This intervention has been proven to reduce 24 binge drinking events per year compared to usual care, and the team is now funded to plan for regional implementation. Dr. Staton and her mentor and collaborator Dr. Mmbaga are co-PD of the “The TReCK Program: Trauma Research Capacity Building in Kilimanjaro” to train 12 masters and doctoral learners to conduct innovative implementation and data science projects to improve care for injury patients. The success of this program has been impressive with learners writing, submitting and being awarded and R21 to improve care for older adult trauma patients at KCMC. Dr. Staton also is working stateside as an implementation scientist on both health system and quality care at Duke as well as implementation science for climate change work in the Carolinas. Dr. Staton and GEMINI partners with over two dozen faculty from low- and middle-income countries to conduct research, has mentored over 150 learners from undergraduate to post-doctoral levels from high, middle and low- income settings and has over 200 manuscripts.
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