Pattern of road traffic accidents in patients admitted to rims, ranchi

Introduction: Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) are the growing but neglected public health problem especially in developing countries. This study was carried out with objectives (i) to determine the demographic characteristics of the RTA victims attending RIMS, Ranchi. (ii) to assess the key factors leading to RTAs, and the trends of last two consecutive year. Methodology: This institutional based cross sectional study was carried out among the victims of RTA, attending the various department of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, for a period of three months. Consecutive sampling method was adopted and the selected patients were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire. Collected data was entered in Ms Excel Sheet and was analyzed using SPSS software version 20. Results: A total of 174 victims were included in the study. More than a half (58%) of the victims were of age group 20-35 years and 81.6% study population was constituted by male. Motor bike involvement was reported by 82.6% cases and driving speed was around 30-60 km/hr in 82.8% cases. Moreover only 21.8% of the motor biker were wearing helmet during accidents. It was found that only 42% victims were taken to nearest hospital within an hour. Conclusion: Our results revealed that youth and productive group are mainly getting affected by RTAs. So it’s our prime responsibility to work together for its prevention. In addition to awareness campaign and strict traffic rules, our health care delivery system needs to be strengthened.