International journal of injury control and safety promotion
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Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot · Dec 2010
Road traffic safety in African countries - status, trend, contributing factors, countermeasures and challenges.
Road traffic crashes and injuries constitute a major health, economic and developmental challenge for many African countries. With only 4% of the world's motor vehicles, African roads witness more than 10% of the world total collision fatalities. With further motorisation, the number of road traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities are expected to grow. ⋯ Limited countermeasures were reported in the literature. The outcomes of these programmes are mixed and the research methods have inconsistent validity. Investigation in the feasibility of transferring proven programmes from motorised countries is suggested as an efficient measure for traffic safety improvement.
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Previous research has found that the location, type and mechanisms of injuries in lacrosse players vary by gender. The patterns and risk factors of injuries in lacrosse players are still not well known. The study population consists of lacrosse players who utilised the accident medical insurance provided to US Lacrosse members. ⋯ These results provide a picture of high-risk situations that lead to injuries in male and female lacrosse players. Future efforts should be made to confirm these results through epidemiologic studies. Further research should also address the effectiveness of interventions that could reduce the risk of injury in these situations.
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Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot · Jun 2010
Thermal injuries caused by hair straightening devices in children: a significant, but preventable problem.
The incidence of contact burns from heated hair straighteners is increasing. The aim of this paper is to assess the safety features of hair straighteners, the mechanism of contact burns and the resultant morbidity in children. This study involves retrospective analyses of patients' case notes and examination of hair straighteners during heating and cooling. ⋯ Contact with heated hair straighteners causes significant morbidity. The devices, including the external surfaces remain dangerously hot for a prolonged period after being switched off. These findings call for appropriate safety measures to be redressed by manufacturers and awareness amongst users to avoid these preventable injuries.
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Pakistan is ranked 12th worldwide for passenger kilometres (km) travelled by railway network. The objective of this study was to assess the railway network related morbidity and mortality in Pakistan. Reported deaths and injuries due to this network were extracted from two secondary datasets: (1) an international disaster database and (2) ambulance log registers for the city of Karachi. ⋯ The ambulance log showed that one person died every two weeks in Karachi over a period from September 2007 to Jun 2008 (N = 26). The male-to-female ratio of all injury victims (N = 50) was 9:1 with a mean age of 35.6 years. Surveillance of these injuries is essential to implement prevention and control measures in Pakistan.