Epidemiology of road traffic accidents in Rafsanjan city, Iran

INTRODUCTION: Injury is recognized as a major health problem in most high and low-income countries. Rafsanjan is considered as one of the accident-prone areas in Kerman province. OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiology of traffic accidents in the Rafsanjan city. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted, by using the data from the Emergency Department (ED) of Aliebn Abitaleb Hospital in Rafsanjan city. The population included all people who had had a traffic accident in the city of Rafsanjan from March 21, 2014 through February 18, 2015. The sample included those who had been injured and transferred to the ED of Aliebn Abitaleb Hospital. Data were analyzed using Chi-square, independent-samples t-test, and logistic regression. SPSS software version 19 was used for data analysis. P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Age, gender and location of accident, had significant association with the number of mortalities (p=0.02), and other results of this study suggest that there was a significant relationship between the status of the injured and the gender (p<0.001), the accident location (p<0.001), and the type of injury (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The rate of accidents in one year in Rafsanjan city was high. Moreover, young people and motorcyclists had most accidents. Teaching the laws and regulations to the people of the city, is the most effective method in reducing accidents and mortality.