An epidemiological survey of traffic accidents in Kangavar, Iran, in 2014

BACKGROUND: Traffic accidents in Iran are the second leading cause of mortality and the first cause of years of life lost (YLL). This study aims to determine the epidemiology of road traffic accidents referring to Shahid Chamran Hospital of Kangavar, Iran, in 2014. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study. The studied population included all dead and injured patients of traffic accidents referring to Shahid Chamran Hospital in Kangavar in 2014 that by using census sampling method were entered in the study. The data collection tool was a researcher-made checklist involving demographic and traffic variables that were filled by examining hospital records and making phone calls to all participants. Data were analyzed through chi-square and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 30.98 ± 17.06 years. 75.81% of the population was men. The average time of traffic accident occurrence was 15:14:47. The majority of injured subjects were motorcycle drivers (32.89%), followed by car passengers (22.41%), and pedestrians (19.64%). Car-motorcycle (29.60%), overturning (28.66%), and car-pedestrian collision (17.45%) were the first three most common types of traffic accidents, respectively. Multiple trauma (42.29%), lower limb trauma (24.88%), and head/neck trauma (17.87%) were the most frequent injuries. There was a statistically significant association between the types of accidents and the variables of marital status, educational level, place of residence, days of the week, seasons, injured person's condition, type of collision, and the injured organ (P < 0.050). CONCLUSION: Based on the findings, since the majority of casualties in traffic accidents are motorcyclists, it is recommended to review the traffic rules for this group.