Recorded presentation

Nhan Tran, MHS, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 Wolfe St, Room E-8141, Baltimore, MD 21205, 202-955-7487, nhtran@jhsph.edu and Adnan A. Hyder, MD, MPH, PhD, Department of International Health, Division of Community Health and Health Systems, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Suite E-8132, Baltimore, MD 21205.

In Southeast Asia, the severity of road traffic injuries has reached epidemic proportions. In addition to the health losses suffered by victims, road traffic injuries result in economic losses amounting to 1-2% of total GDP annually. Among Southeast Asian countries, this is equivalent to losses of over $1.8 billion USD.

This sector study defines current road safety development, particularly the implementation of mandatory helmet laws, in selected Southeast Asian countries. The results of this study will help determine how national policies can be enhanced to better address road traffic deaths and injuries in low and middle income countries in a more cost-effective manner.

A comprehensive review of documents and peer review literature relating to traffic injury prevention and urban transport in Southeast Asia was conducted through electronic and manual search of journals and databases. The analysis focused on policy effectiveness by country and region. The evidence suggests that while legislation such as a mandatory helmet law is necessary to reduce the impact of road traffic injuries in low and middle income countries, they are only effective to the extent they enforced. The effectiveness of road safety development in SE Asian countries seems to vary by the length of time the policy has been implemented and by the level of rigor with which they are enforced. These findings have significant implications for the evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of road safety programs in SE Asia.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants should be able to
• 1. Evaluate the cost-effectiveness of road safety programs in Southeast Asia.
• 2. Distinguish between enforcement and implementation of policies and their role in the prevention of road crashes

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation