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Abstract
To assess the burden of road traffic injury (RTI) in primary and secondary level hospitals
in Bangladesh, and its economic impact on affected families.
Cross-sectional study.
The study was carried out in February and March 2001. To estimate the burden of RTI
patients and the length of stay in hospital, the discharge records of primary and
secondary level hospitals were used as data sources. Records from 16 district hospitals
and 45 Upazila health complexes (subdistrict level hospitals), selected at random,
were included in this study. A direct interview method was adopted to estimate the
patient costs of RTI; this involved interviewing patients or their attendants. In
this study, patient costs included money spent by the patient for medicine, transport,
food and lodging (including attendants).
Approximately 33% of the beds in primary and secondary level hospitals in Bangladesh
were occupied by injury-related patients, and more than 19% of the injury patients
had been injured in a road traffic accident. People aged 18-45 years were the major
victims of RTI, and constituted 70% of the total RTI-related admissions in primary
and secondary level hospitals. More than two-thirds of RTI patients were male. The
average duration of hospital stay was 5.7 days, and the average patient cost for each
RTI patient was US$86 (5834 BDT).
RTI is a major cause of hospital admission in Bangladesh, and represents an economic
and social burden for the family and the nation. A national strategy and road safety
programme need to be developed to reduce the hospital burden and minimize the economic
and social impact.
2010 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.