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Seat belt and mobile phone use among vehicle drivers in the city of Doha, Qatar: an observational study.
Mahfoud, Ziyad R; Cheema, Sohaila; Alrouh, Hekmat; Al-Thani, Mohammed Hamad; Al-Thani, Al Anoud Mohammed; Mamtani, Ravinder.
Afiliação
  • Mahfoud ZR; Division of Global and Public Health, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. Qatar Foundation, Education City, P.O. Box: 24144, Doha, Qatar. zrm2001@qatar-med.cornell.edu.
  • Cheema S; Department of Healthcare Policy and Research, Weill Cornell Medical College, 402 East 67th Street, Box 74, New York, NY, 10065, USA. zrm2001@qatar-med.cornell.edu.
  • Alrouh H; Division of Global and Public Health, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. Qatar Foundation, Education City, P.O. Box: 24144, Doha, Qatar. soc2005@qatar-med.cornell.edu.
  • Al-Thani MH; Division of Global and Public Health, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. Qatar Foundation, Education City, P.O. Box: 24144, Doha, Qatar. har2005@qatar-med.cornell.edu.
  • Al-Thani AA; Department of Public Health, Supreme Council of Health, P.O. Box: 42, Doha, Qatar. malthani@sch.gov.qa.
  • Mamtani R; Department of Public Health, Supreme Council of Health, P.O. Box: 42, Doha, Qatar. aalthani@sch.gov.qa.
BMC Public Health ; 15: 937, 2015 Sep 22.
Article em En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26392362
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

In Qatar traffic injuries and fatalities are of serious concern. Mobile phone use whilst driving has been associated with increased risk of vehicular collisions and injuries. Seat belt use has been demonstrated to save lives and reduce the severity of road traffic injuries. Whereas previously published studies may have looked at all front passengers, this study aims to obtain reliable estimates of the prevalence of seat belt and mobile phone use among vehicle drivers in the city of Doha, Qatar. Additionally, we aim to investigate the association of these behaviors with other variables namely gender, time of the day and type of vehicle.

METHODS:

An observational study on 2,011 vehicles was conducted in 2013. Data were collected at ten sites within Doha city over a two-week period. Two trained observers surveyed each car and recorded observations on a data collection form adapted from a form used in a 2012 Oklahoma observational study. Associations were assessed using the Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test. A p-value of .05 or less was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS:

Overall, 1,463 (72.7 %) drivers were found using a seat belt (95 % CI 70.8-74.7 %) and 150 (7.5 %) their mobile phones (95 % CI 6.3-8.6 %) during the observation period. Mobile phone use was significantly associated with not using a seat belt and driving a sport utility vehicle. Significantly lower rates of seat belt use were observed in the early morning and late afternoon. No gender differences were observed.

DISCUSSION:

Seatbelt use in Doha was found to be similar to countries in the region but lower than those in western countries. Also, studies from other high-income locations, reported lower rates of mobile phone use while driving than in Doha.

CONCLUSIONS:

Despite road traffic crashes being one of the leading causes of death in Qatar, three out of 10 drivers in Doha, Qatar, do not use a seat belt and about one in 12 use a mobile phone while driving. More efforts, in the form of awareness campaigns and increased law enforcement, are needed to improve compliance with laws requiring seat belt use and prohibiting mobile phone use while driving.
Assuntos

Texto completo: 1 Coleções: 01-internacional Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Segurança / Cintos de Segurança / Condução de Veículo / Acidentes de Trânsito / Telefone Celular Tipo de estudo: Observational_studies / Risk_factors_studies Limite: Female / Humans / Male País/Região como assunto: Asia Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2015 Tipo de documento: Article

Texto completo: 1 Coleções: 01-internacional Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Segurança / Cintos de Segurança / Condução de Veículo / Acidentes de Trânsito / Telefone Celular Tipo de estudo: Observational_studies / Risk_factors_studies Limite: Female / Humans / Male País/Região como assunto: Asia Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2015 Tipo de documento: Article