Road traffic injuries are a major public health
problem, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Post-crash management
can play a significant role in minimizing crash consequences and saving lives.
Iran has one of the highest mortality rates from road traffic injuries in the
world. The present study attempts to fill the knowledge gap and explores
stakeholders' perceptions of barriers to - and facilitators of - effective
post-crash management in Iranian regions.
Methods: Thirty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with medical
services personnel, police officers, members of Red Crescent, firefighters,
public-health professionals, road administrators; some road users and traffic
injury victims.
A qualitative approach using grounded theory method was employed to analyze the
material gathered.
Results: The core variable was identified as "poor quality of post crash
management". Barriers to effective post-crash management were identified as:
involvement of laypeople; lack of coordination; inadequate pre-hospital
services; shortcomings in infrastructure.
Suggestions for laypeople included: 1) a public education campaign in first aid,
the role of the emergency services, cooperation of the public at the crash site,
and 2) target-group training for professional drivers, police officers and
volunteers involved at the crash scene. An integrated trauma system and
infrastructure improvement also is crucial to be considered for effective
post-crash management.
Conclusion: To sum up, it seems that the involvement of laypeople could be a key
factor in making post-crash management more effective.
But system improvements are also crucial, including the integration of the
trauma system and its development in terms of human resources (staffing and
training) and physical resources as well as the infrastructure development.
Author: Davoud Khorasani-Zavareh, Hamid Reza Khankeh, Reza Mohammadi,
Lucie Laflamme, Ali Bikmoraki and Bo J.A. Haglund
Credits/Source: BMC Emergency Medicine 2009, 9:8
Originally published by 7thSpace
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