Prevalence of Motorcycle Accidents and Its Associated Factors Among Road Traffic Accident Patients in Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, 2019.

Abstract

Background: Road traffic damages were amongst the central causes of passing away, hospitalization, disability, and low socioeconomic status. About 1.3 million lethal road traffic damages and 20-50 million nonfatal damages happened consequently of road traffic accidents every year globally. Motorcycles are a small subsection of all motor vehicles significantly over-represented in total motor vehicle accidents and lead to a great rate of deaths and disabilities.

Objective: The study aimed to assess the prevalence of motorcycle accident and associated factors among road traffic accident patients in Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Hawassa city, Ethiopia in 2019.

Methods and materials: The health institution/hospital-based retrospective cross-sectional study design was applied and a systematic random sampling technique was implemented to select the sample size of 274 patient's cards from January 2018 to January 2019. The data were entered and analyzed on SPSS 20.

Results: From 274 patients' medical records reviewed in the study period, 151 (55.1%) injuries were due to motorcycle accident. In a multiple logistic regression analysis, age, sex, high speed, and types of roads showed significant association with motorcycle accidents.

Conclusion: The prevalence of motorcycle accidents was the main cause of injuries among others, which was 55.1%. Motorcycle accidents occurred mainly in males and in people with the age category of 20-29 years. Age, sex, high speed, and type of road were significantly associated with a motorcycle accident.