SafeTrip Nepal
Background
Road traffic injuries are the 12th most common cause of death globally in 5- to 29-year-olds. Approximately 1.19 million people die and over 50 million are injured in road traffic crashes yearly. In Nepal, with the construction of roads and the increased number of vehicles in the recent decade, the number of road traffic crashes and injuries is also rising. Road traffic injuries are one of the most preventable causes of death, injury, and disability.
A ‘Safe Systems’ approach, as will be adopted by the SafeTrip Nepal project, in which all agencies work together to create an environment that keeps road users safe, can significantly reduce rates of road traffic injuries.
Aim
The aim of this research is to reduce road deaths and injuries by bringing together stakeholders to achieve shared understanding of the system dynamics, and to agree actions.
The objectives build on stakeholder priorities and community engagement, and are:
- To understand current policy and stakeholder involvement leading to a policy gap map;
- To co-design a road safety toolkit for local governments;
- To understand factors resulting in unsafe public transport and agree recommendations for action;
- Collect evidence of the economic and social arguments for investment in road traffic injury prevention;
- To co-design protocols for the handover of road traffic injured patients between ambulance and emergency department staff; and
- To strengthen capacity for road safety research in Nepal.
Research Methodology
This study comprises four inter-related work packages:
Work package 1: Closing the evidence-policy-practice gap (led by Margie Peden)
Work package 2: Safer public transport
Work package 3: Post-crash care
- Study 1: Understanding patient experience to build the socio-economic argument for road safety
- Study 2: Improving prehospital-hospital handover of patients with road traffic injuries
Work package 4: Strengthening data governance in LMICs
The Nepal Injury Research Centre is an established collaboration with a track record of research and government engagement. Supported by a National Advisory Board comprising government and National Road Safety Council representatives, evidence generated by the SafeTrip Nepal programme will enable those with authority to act to improve road safety, save lives and reduce injuries and disability. Community engagement activities, policy briefs and videos will reach diverse stakeholders, while publications and conference presentations will reach academic audiences.
