Research to tackle growing problem of road traffic injuries in Nepal

A programme of research will address the growing problem of road traffic injuries in Nepal. The Safe systems approach for enabling traffic injury prevention in Nepal (SAFETRIP Nepal) project has been funded through a grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). It is a collaboration between UWE Bristol and Kathmandu Medical College Public Limited, Nepal, in cooperation with the two NGOs; Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA) and Safe and Sustainable Travel Nepal (SSTN).

UWE Bristol’s Professor Julie Mytton, an expert in public health and the UK director of the research study, said: “The ‘safe systems’ approach to road safety encourages all agencies to work together to create an environment that keeps road users safe and minimizes the risk of death and injury when people make mistakes on the road. This approach has the potential to make a real improvement in road safety in a country like Nepal.”

Professor Sunil Kumar Joshi, from Kathmandu Medical College, said the research would be conducted through three work packages. He said: “One will support leadership and action for road safety at local and provincial government levels, another will aim to improve the safety of public transport, and the third will explore how to provide the best prehospital and emergency department care for people with road traffic injuries to minimize their impact on patients health, quality of life and income.”

The intended outcomes of the study include:

• The identification of ‘gaps’ between policies and practice, and a road safety toolkit developed for local and provincial governments
• Agreed policy recommendations for safer bus travel
• Estimates of the economic burden of road traffic injuries on families
• A standardised care pathway for the handover of road traffic injury patients from ambulance staff to hospital services.

The research project, which will run from November 2022 until October 2026, was formally launched at a ceremony in Kathmandu.