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Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Road Traffic Injuries in Iran: An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis Publisher Pubmed



Kolivand P1 ; Saberian P2 ; Arabloo J3 ; Behzadifar M4 ; Karimi F5 ; Rajaie S5 ; Moradipour M5 ; Parvari A6 ; Azari S5, 7
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Health Economics, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran
  2. 2. Department of Anesthesiology, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  3. 3. Health Management and Economics Research Center, Health Management Research Institute, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  4. 4. Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran
  5. 5. Research Center for Emergency and Disaster Resilience, Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Tehran, Iran
  6. 6. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  7. 7. Hospital Management Research Center, Health Management Research Institute, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Source: PLoS ONE Published:2024


Abstract

Introduction Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the number of road accidents and deaths caused by them. The present study aimed to identify the effect of this epidemic on traffic accidents and their casualties in Iran. Methods In this study, Interrupted Time Series Analysis (ITSA) was used in a semi-experimental design to measure the impact of the restrictive policies of COVID-19 on road accidents. Data were collected retrospectively from the Iran Red Crescent Society data set for 31 provinces from March 2017 to February 2022. The information related to the number of road accidents, injuries, deaths, and deaths in the hospital was collected. The Newey-West method is used for estimation. Statistical analyses were carried out using R software version 3.6.1. Results Since February 2020 in Iran, the reduction in the number of road accidents and the number of injuries and deaths in these accidents was significant at 5% but the reduction of deaths in the scene and hospital was significant at 10%. In general, for all variables, the reduction trend was established only in the first months, and then it had an upward trend. Conclusion In the early months of the COVID-19 epidemic in Iran, the number of road accidents and their casualties decreased. Policies restricting traffic, quarantine, and fines for violators can be reasons for changing people’s behavior and travel patterns and also lead to a reduction in traffic accidents and fatalities. Such studies can explain the importance of the policies in changing behavioural patterns and can be used as a guide in future policies. © 2024 Kolivand et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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