Traumatic brain injury: support for injured people and their carers

Provides a summary of the available evidence for assessing traumatic brain injury (TBI) and managing the common mental health, physical and cognitive/behavioural issues associated with TBI. Background Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of lifelong disability and death worldwide, but is considered a ‘silent epidemic’ as society is largely unaware of the magnitude of the problem. TBI is a complex injury with a broad spectrum of symptoms and disabilities. Pa-tients with a TBI may have a range of physical, mental, cognitive and social problems. Objective This article provides a summary of the available evidence for assessing TBI and managing the common mental health, physical and cognitive/behavioural issues associated with TBI. Discussion Translational and clinical research has revealed that TBI can no longer be regarded as a single clinical entity with a defined outcome. Each type of injury can lead to a distinct clinical condition that requires careful assessment and appropriate management to reduce long-term disability. In this article we discuss some of the more common health issues related to TBI. &nbsp

Identifying priority policy issues and health system research questions associated with recovery outcomes for burns survivors in India: a qualitative inquiry

Objectives This study aimed to identify priority policy issues and health system research questions associated with recovery outcomes for burns survivors in India. Design Qualitative inquiry; data were collected through semistructured in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Setting Nine sites in urban and rural settings across India, through primary, secondary and tertiary health facilities. Participants Healthcare providers, key informants, burns survivors and/or their carers. Results Participants acknowledged the challenges of burns care and recovery, and identified the need for prolonged rehabilitation. Challenges identified included poor communication between healthcare providers and survivors, limited rehabilitation services, difficulties with transportation to health facility and high cost associated with burns care. Burns survivors and healthcare providers identified the stigma attached with burns as the biggest challenge within the healthcare system, as well as in the community. Systems barriers (eg, limited infrastructure and human resources), lack of economic and social support, and poor understanding of recovery and rehabilitation were identified as major barriers to recovery. Conclusions Though further research is needed for addressing gaps in data, strengthening of health systems can enable providers to address issues such as developing/providing, protocols, capacity building, effective coordination between key organisations and referral networks

Beliefs about Safe Traffic Behaviors among Male High School Students in Hamadan, Iran: A Qualitative Study Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior

Road traffic injuries are public health challenges with heavy economic and social burdens. Road traffic injuries are common in developing countries and occur disproportionately with adolescents. This study aimed to elicit beliefs about traffic behaviors based on the theory of planned behavior among male high school students in Hamadan, Iran. We used a constructivist-interpretive qualitative design with directional content analysis. Interviews were conducted with 19 adolescent males in Hamadan, Iran. Analysis revealed that theory of planned behavior fit well to explain how perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs influenced traffic behaviors. Perceived subjective norms in the forms of parental encouragement, traffic rules and policies, and media advertising influenced the pursuit of safe traffic behaviors. Control belief factors that impeded safe behaviors included aggressive and/or drunk driving and bad road conditions, distance to bridge crossings, and improper seat belt position. Our results provided a deeper understanding of attitudes, experiences, and intentions that precede adolescents’ traffic behaviors. Understanding precursors to behaviors is necessary for effective intervention. Further exploration of factors that lead youth to engage in unsafe behaviors despite education, knowledge, and presence of influential people that promote safe traffic behaviors is needed

Snakebite care through the first two waves of COVID-19 in West Bengal, India: a qualitative study

Snakebite is a public health problem in many countries, with India having the highest number of deaths. Not much is known about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on snakebite care. We conducted 20 in-depth interviews with those bitten by venomous snakes through the two waves of COVID-19 (March–May 2020; May–November 2021), their caregivers, health care workers and social workers in two areas (Sundarbans and Hooghly) of West Bengal, India. We used a constructivist approach and conducted a thematic analysis. We identified the following themes: 1. Snakebite continued to be recognised as an acute emergency during successive waves of COVID-19; 2. COVID-19 magnified the financial woes of communities with high snakebite burden; 3. The choice of health care provider was driven by multiple factors and consideration of trade-offs, many of which leaned toward use of traditional providers during COVID-19; 4. Rurality, financial and social disadvantage and cultural safety, in and beyond the health system, affected snakebite care; 5. There is strong and shared felt need for multi-faceted community programs on snakebite. We mapped factors affecting snakebite care in the three-delay model (decision to seek care, reaching appropriate health facility, receiving appropriate care), originally developed for maternal mortality. The result of our study contextualises and brings forth evidence on impact of COVID-19 on snakebite care in West Bengal, India. Multi-faceted community programs, are needed for addressing factors affecting snakebite care, including during disease outbreaks - thus improving health systems resilience. Community programs for increasing formal health service usage, should be accompanied by health systems strengthening, instead of an exclusive focus on awareness against traditional providers

Closing the gap for drowning prevention across Europe

[No abstract available

Challenges in Documenting Non-Fatal Drowning Disability in Bangladesh: A Community-Based Survey.

Limited access to health care and the lack of robust data systems means non-fatal drownings are largely missed in low-and middle-income countries. We report morbidity among individuals who experienced non-fatal drowning in the Barishal Division, Bangladesh. A representative household survey was conducted in the Barishal Division in southern Bangladesh between September 2016 and February 2017, covering a population of 386,016. The burden of non-fatal drowning was assessed using the WHODAS 2.0 disability assessment tool, a generic assessment instrument for health and disability. A total of 5164 non-fatal drowning events occurred in the one year preceding the survey. Among these 18% were multiple events. From these, 4235 people were administered the WHODAS 2.0 questionnaire. Non-fatal drowning incidence rates were highest in children aged 1-4 years at 5810 per 100,000 population, and among males. Non-fatal drowning was associated with lower socio-economic status and larger family sizes. Few respondents (6.5%; 95% CI: 4.5-8.4%) reported some level of disability (WHODAS-12 score > 8). Incidence of non-fatal drowning is high in the population, however limited impact on morbidity was found. There is a need to develop tools and methodologies for reliable and comparable data for non-fatal drowning, especially to capture post-event disability in children

Comparison of physical and psychological health outcomes for motorcyclists and other road users after land transport crashes: an inception cohort study

Abstract Background Serious injuries and fatalities among vulnerable road users on two wheeled motorised vehicles have increased across Australia and internationally in the past decade yet fallen for motor vehicle occupants. Almost half of all reported motorcycle injury crashes cause serious injury or death, nearly double that of motor vehicle police-reported crashes. This study explores associations with sociodemographic and pre-injury health characteristics and health outcomes after a road traffic injury; aiming to compare motorcyclists with other road users and inform recovery care. Methods An inception cohort study recruited 1854 individuals aged &gt; 17 years, injured following land-transport crashes in New South Wales, Australia (July 2013–November 2016). Interviews conducted at baseline, 6-and 12-months post-injury elicited demographic, socioeconomic, and self-reported health conditions. Results Primary analysis involved 1854 participants who were recruited at baseline as three distinct road user groups; 628 (33.9%) motorcyclists, 927 (50%) vehicle occupants and 299 (16.1%) bicyclists. At baseline, injury patterns differed significantly between road user groups; motorcyclists were more than twice as likely to sustain lower extremity injury (p &lt; 0.001); to have more severe injury severity scores (p &lt; 0.001) and longer hospital stays versus vs vehicle occupants and bicyclists (&lt; 0.001) across these measures. Injured motorcyclists were predominantly male (88.1%, p &lt; 0.001), were younger on average (38 years) than bicyclists (41.5 years), had lower income and education levels, and poorer pre-injury physical health than other road user groups. Despite these differences, at 12 months post-injury motorcyclists had better physical health (SF12-PCS 2.07 (0.77, 3.36), p = 0.002) and reported lower pain scores (− 0.51 (− 0.83, − 0.2), p &lt; 0.001) than vehicle occupants. Motorcyclists displayed less evidence of psychological distress than vehicle occupants, but more than bicyclists across several measures used. Conclusions Road user types differ in important characteristics, including pre-injury health status and recovery after injury. As vulnerable road users experiencing transport crash and considering their higher initial injury severity, the degree of recovery among motorcyclists compared with other user types is remarkable and unexplained. Health and recovery outcomes after land-transport crashes is least favourable among vehicle occupants despite their higher levels of protection in a crash. This information is valuable for targeting early intervention strategies by road user type during the post-crash care phase, to improve long-term recovery. </jats:sec

Vulnerability to fatal drowning among the population in Southern Bangladesh: Findings from a cross-sectional household survey

© 2019 Author(s). Objectives This study aimed to determine the fatal drowning burden and associated risk factors in Southern Bangladesh. Settings The survey was conducted in 39 subdistricts of all 6 districts of the Barisal division, Southern Bangladesh. Participants All residents (for a minimum 6 months prior to survey) of the Barisal division, Southern Bangladesh. Intervention/methods A cross-sectional, divisionally representative household survey was conducted in all six districts of the Barisal division between September 2016 and February 2017, covering a population of 386 016. Data were collected by face-to-face interview with adult respondents using handheld electronic tablets. International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-v. 10 (ICD-10) Chapter XX: External causes of morbidity and mortality codes for drowning, W65-W74, X36-X39, V90, V92, X71 or X92, were used as the operational definition of a drowning event. Results The overall fatal drowning rate in Barisal was 37.9/100 000 population per year (95% CI 31.8 to 43.9). The highest fatal drowning rate was observed among children aged 1-4 years (262.2/100 000/year). Mortality rates among males (48.2/100 000/year) exceeded that for females (27.9/100 000/year). A higher rate of fatal drowning was found in rural (38.9/100 000/year) compared with urban areas (29.3/100 000/year). The results of the multivariable logistic regression identified that the factors significantly associated with fatal drowning were being male (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.3), aged 1-4 years (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.4 to 6.4) and residing in a household with four or more children (four or more children OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.9; and five or more children OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.7). Conclusion Drowning is a public health problem, especially for children, in the Barisal division of Southern Bangladesh. Male gender, children 1-4 years of age and residing in a household with four or more children were associated with increased risk of fatal drowning events. The Barisal division demands urgent interventions targeted at high-risk groups identified in the survey

Delays in hospital admissions in patients with fractures across 18 low-income and middle-income countries (INORMUS): a prospective observational study

BACKGROUND: The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery established the Three Delays framework, categorising delays in accessing timely surgical care into delays in seeking care (First Delay), reaching care (Second Delay), and receiving care (Third Delay). Globally, knowledge gaps regarding delays for fracture care, and the lack of large prospective studies informed the rationale for our international observational study. We investigated delays in hospital admission as a surrogate for accessing timely fracture care and explored factors associated with delayed hospital admission. METHODS: In this prospective observational substudy of the ongoing International Orthopaedic Multicenter Study in Fracture Care (INORMUS), we enrolled patients with fracture across 49 hospitals in 18 low-income and middle-income countries, categorised into the regions of China, Africa, India, south and east Asia, and Latin America. Eligible patients were aged 18 years or older and had been admitted to a hospital within 3 months of sustaining an orthopaedic trauma. We collected demographic injury data and time to hospital admission. Our primary outcome was the number of patients with open and closed fractures who were delayed in their admission to a treating hospital. Delays for patients with open fractures were defined as being more than 2 h from the time of injury (in accordance with the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery) and for those with closed fractures as being a delay of more than 24 h. Secondary outcomes were reasons for delay for all patients with either open or closed fractures who were delayed for more than 24 h. We did logistic regression analyses to identify risk factors of delays of more than 2 h in patients with open fractures and delays of more than 24 h in patients with closed fractures. Logistic regressions were adjusted for region, age, employment, urban living, health insurance, interfacility referral, method of transportation, number of fractures, mechanism of injury, and fracture location. We further calculated adjusted relative risk (RR) from adjusted odds ratios, adjusted for the same variables. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02150980, and is ongoing. FINDINGS: Between April 3, 2014, and May 10, 2019, we enrolled 31 255 patients with fractures, with a median age of 45 years (IQR 31-62), of whom 19 937 (63·8%) were men, and 14 524 (46·5%) had lower limb fractures, making them the most common fractures. Of 5256 patients with open fractures, 3778 (71·9%) were not admitted to hospital within 2 h. Of 25 999 patients with closed fractures, 7141 (27·5%) were delayed by more than 24 h. Of all regions, Latin America had the greatest proportions of patients with delays (173 [88·7%] of 195 patients with open fractures; 426 [44·7%] of 952 with closed fractures). Among patients delayed by more than 24 h, the most common reason for delays were interfacility referrals (3755 [47·7%] of 7875) and Third Delays (cumulatively interfacility referral and delay in emergency department: 3974 [50·5%]), while Second Delays (delays in reaching care) were the least common (423 [5·4%]). Compared with other methods of transportation (eg, walking, rickshaw), ambulances led to delay in transporting patients with open fractures to a treating hospital (adjusted RR 0·66, 99% CI 0·46-0·93). Compared with patients with closed lower limb fractures, patients with closed spine (adjusted RR 2·47, 99% CI 2·17-2·81) and pelvic (1·35, 1·10-1·66) fractures were most likely to have delays of more than 24 h before admission to hospital. INTERPRETATION: In low-income and middle-income countries, timely hospital admission remains largely inaccessible, especially among patients with open fractures. Reducing hospital-based delays in receiving care, and, in particular, improving interfacility referral systems are the most substantial tools for reducing delays in admissions to hospital. FUNDING: National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, McMaster Surgical Associates, and Hamilton Health Sciences