Pattern of underreporting of Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs): An investigation of missing burden of RTIs in Pakistan. (September 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Younis, Muhammad Waqas; Batool, Zahara; Bukhari, Murtaza; Rehman, Zia ur; Shahzad, Saqib; Rehman, Atteq ur; Khan, Ammad Hassan; Yasin, Mazhar; Irfan, Muhammad; Ali, Muhammad Sarmad
• Is Part Of: Journal of transport & health. Volume 14(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-09
• Subjects: Underreporting -- Safety -- Road injuries -- Police -- Hospital records -- Awareness; Transportation -- Health aspects -- Periodicals; Transportation -- Periodicals; Public Health -- Periodicals; Noise, Transportation -- Periodicals; Air Pollutants -- Periodicals; 388
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jth.2019.100575
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2214-1405

Abstract

Abstract : : Background: A complete and reliable Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) data is essential for sustainable transport safety policy and health sector. This paper aims to determine the extent of underreporting of RTIs in Pakistan with police and Punjab Emergency Response Service (PERS), taking Lahore as a case study. Methods: Official data of RTIs was collected from five public sector hospitals of the Lahore city and matched with police and PERS data to determine the extent of underreporting. Further a population-based data from 540 respondents of the city was collected to identify different factors affecting underreporting. Results: Discordance analysis revealed that the extent of underreporting with police was 99% and with PERS was 39%. Binary logistic regression and Odd-Ratios (OR) informed that car occupants were 4.34 times more likely to report with police. While young people were less likely to report with both police and PERS at rate of 17% and 50% respectively. Different institutional issues in the system were also highlighted based on informal discussions. Conclusions: The problem of underreporting is mostly observed for non-fatal crashes and young people. It also recommends to establish a road crash data unit at the city level to assess the actual burden of RTIs. Highlights: This study explores the extent and factors influencing underreporting of Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs). The study is based on two phase; one was official data collection while second phase was consisted on questionnaire data. The results indicate that data mismanagement, age and lack of awareness of RTIs reporting are main issues of underreporting. More than 90% hospital data did not match to police data. Young age road users, bikes, pedestrians and males were frequently involved in underreporting.