Focus on Road Traffic Injuries in Cambodia: Selections from the Traffic Injury Prevention Special Issue

The World Health Organization estimates that road traffic injuries (RTIs) account for approximately 1.2 million deaths annually around the globe, with the majority occurring in low- and middle-income countries. In countries like Cambodia, motorcycles are a common form of transportation, and their popularity is predicted to increase.

Head injuries are a main cause of disability and death in motorcycle crashes, but helmet use in Cambodia remains relatively low, despite the fact that helmet-wearing is a proven injury prevention intervention .
 
In order to assist with better planning and implementation of injury prevention strategies, JH-IIRU team members, including Associate Director Abdulgafoor M. Bachani, along with colleagues from Handicap International, Belgium and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published, “Helmet Use Among Motorcyclists in Cambodia: A Survey of Use, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices.” The goal of the study was to assess the current status of helmet use in five districts in Cambodia as well as knowledge, attitudes and practices related to helmet use. 

As part of the Road Safety in 10 Countries project (RS-10), in 2012, JH-IIRU published “Public Health Burden of Road Traffic Injuries: An Assessment from Ten Low- and Middle-Income Countries,” a special issue of Traffic Injury Prevention. This landmark publication includes 11 scientific papers jointly authored with 50 colleagues from JH-IIRU and their in-country collaborators that contribute much-needed new knowledge to the burgeoning issue of road traffic injuries in low- and middle- income countries.

You can access the full article along with the entire special issue here.

To find out more about JH-IIRU and road safety, contact us at IIRU@JHSPH.edu