Perception of Medical Undergraduates regarding Drifts of Road Trafic Accidents in the Metropolitan City of Karachi

Abstract

Background: Currently, Road traffic accident (RTA) is the 9 leading cause of deaths worldwide. Therefore, this research was conducted to assess the awareness of medical undergraduates regarding drifts of road traffic accidents in the Karachi city.

Methods: This survey was carried out at Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi during a period of one month, from February 2016 to March 2016. A total of 334 medical undergraduates studying in Dow Medical College, DUHS were enrolled. A pre-structured questionnaire was designed to collect perception of medical undergraduates regarding the causes of RTA, common victims, age groups and the body part mostly affected.

Results: According to our study, majority of the responders (n=265, 79.3%) believed that RTAs occur more commonly in commercial areas of the city with 19 to 40 years being the most common age groups (n= 283, 85.3%). Motorcyclists were reported as the most common victims (n=251, 75%) whereas head was reported as the most affected region (n=192, 57.5%). Majority (n=303, 90.7%) believes that awareness among drivers regarding preventable causes of RTAs can lower the accident rates. Moreover, 317 (94.9%) respondents also suggested strict laws and regulations to decrease the number of deadly accidents in the city.

Conclusion: According to majority of the medical undergraduates, there is a dire need to create awareness among drivers of Karachi. Furthermore, strict laws and regulations to reduce the number of deadly accidents in the city were also suggested by respondents.