Road traffic injuries in Uganda: pre-hospital care time intervals from crash scene to hospital and related factors by the Uganda Police

Esther Bayiga Zziwa, Christine Muhumuza, Kennedy M. Muni, Lynn Atuyambe, Abdulgafoor M. Bachani, Olive C. Kobusingye

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect primary data prospectively on pre-hospital care time intervals of Road Traffic Crash (RTC) victims that had been rescued by the Uganda police and to determine what factors were related to those intervals. The survey was conducted between 1 May 2015 and 31 May 2015. The Police responses to 96 RTCs were recorded, but only 74 of them were considered serious enough to warrant hospital transfer, and those 74 are the subject of the analysis. Pre-hospital care time ranged between 10 and 220 min. Seventy-two per cent of the calls were completed within 1 h of call initiation. The scene to hospital transport interval was the longest with a mean of 19.07 min (SD 10.11). Activation time was the shortest interval with a mean of 4.58 min (SD 5.67). Key factors for delays included: understaffing, lack of skills and long distances. A toll-free Universal Access Number, a law mandating provision of free basic emergency medical services at every health facility and gazetting of lanes for emergency services and might decrease on pre-hospital care time and could reduce on the notification and transport time interval respectively.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)170-175
Number of pages6
JournalInternational journal of injury control and safety promotion
Volume26
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 3 2019

Keywords

  • Pre-hospital care time interval
  • road traffic crash
  • road traffic injuries

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Safety Research
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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