Poor incomes and economic hardships among commercial motorcycle drivers (boda-boda) are associated with accidents and injuries in Gulu Municipality, Northern Uganda: a cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: injuries in commercial motorcycle drivers (boda-boda) are the second-commonest reason for trauma-related admission to the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital. Most causes of boda-boda accidents and injuries were related to the behaviors of drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. The purpose of this study was to determine factors associated with boda-boda drivers, accidents, and boda-boda accident victims in Gulu Municipality, Northern Uganda. METHODS: two cross-sectional studies were conducted at intervals of six months between July and December 2015. Two hundred boda-boda drivers from Gulu Municipality and fifty-seven victims of boda-boda accidents admitted to the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital were recruited for this study. A pre-tested questionnaire with Cronbach´s alpha (internal validity) α=072 was used for data collection. This study was approved by a local Institutional Review Board (IRB) and STATA version 14.1 was used for statistical analysis. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: factors associated with boda-boda accidents in Gulu Municipality were boda-boda drivers from Pece division (AoR=7.290, 95% CI: 2.162-24.580; p<0.001) and those with low monthly incomes less than UGX400,000/= equal to USD$100 (AoR=0.154, 95% CI: 0.031-0.766; p<0.05). Drivers with monthly incomes higher than UGX400,000/= were least likely involved in boda-boda accidents (AoR=0.104, 95% CI: 0.038-0.281; p<0.001). Work experience, prior road safety training, age, wearing a helmet and protective clothing, levels of education, and knowledge on road safety regulations did not significantly affect the outcome. Most victims of boda-boda accidents were passengers and pedestrians from villages outside Gulu Municipality (AoR=8.808, 95% CI: 3.190-24.329; p<0.001) and sustained minor injuries. CONCLUSION: boda-boda accidents in Gulu Municipality are problematic, drivers from the Pece division and those with low monthly incomes were more involved. Most victims of boda-boda accidents were passengers and pedestrians from villages outside Gulu Municipality. This study suggests that boda-boda drivers should be engaged in other income-generating activities, as some divisions in Gulu Municipality do not generate the required resources to meet their needs.