Epidemiological study of reported road traffic injuries (RTIs) in selected hospitals in Kampala – Uganda (2018 - 2022)

Abstract

RTIs have increased in prevalence over the past few decades and by 2030, it is predicted that they will surpass both diabetes and HIV/AIDS to rank as the fifth biggest cause of death. This study was aimed at determining the epidemiology of reported Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) in Mulago National Referral Hospital, Lubaga Hospital, Naguru Hospital, and Nsambya Hospital from 2018 to 2022. A facility-based cross-sectional design was used. Data was collected from the hospitals using document review guides. A total of 5,379 documents were reviewed from all the four hospitals. The findings of the study showed that males (80.9%) were more affected than females (19.1%). Individuals aged 21 – 30 years (34.4%) and 31 – 40 years (25.5%) were the most affected ages. Riders (31.2%) and pedestrians (33.0%) were most affected. Time of most accidents was evening and morning. Females were less likely to acquire head injuries than their male counterparts (aOR = 0.512; 95%CI = 0.456 – 0.907) while they were more likely to acquire lower limb injuries (aOR = 1.269; 95%CI = 0.011 – 1.801) and pelvis injures (aOR = 1.930; 95%CI = 1.542 – 2.132) than the male victims. The younger victims were more likely to acquire upper limb injuries (aOR = 1.739; 95%CI = 1.160 – 2.606), head injuries (aOR = 1.356; 95%CI = 1.053 – 1.922) and spine injuries (aOR = 2.163; 95%CI = 1.153 – 4.059) than the elderly victims while they were less likely to acquire lower limb injuries (aOR = 0.346; 95%CI = 1.734 – 3.175) than the elderly victims. The trends of RTIs showed a gradual increase of 0.8% of RTIs cases at the facilities from 2018 to 2022. Lubaga hospital and Naguru hospital RTIs cases showed seasonality with an index of 1.01 and 1.36 respectively. Factors associated with daily RTIs were gender, category of victim, mechanism of injury and time of incident. The study recommended the provision of zebra crossings and pedestrian walkways, use of helmets for both rider and passenger, provision of riding permits to riders, and ensuring the traffic police are available in the morning and evening times of the day.