Road traffic fatalities remain a major public health challenge in low- and middle-income countries. Medell & iacute;n, Colombia, implemented photodetection cameras between 2009 and 2011, with sanctioning measures starting in 2012. This study estimated the effect of this policy on road traffic mortality using anonymized mortality records and population estimates. Age- and sex-adjusted mortality rates from 1997 to 2011 were used to assess pre-intervention trends and select Cali as the comparator city. Difference-in-differences Poisson models were then estimated for 2007-2017. During the study period, 10,363 road traffic deaths occurred in Medell & iacute;n and 10,607 in Cali. After adjustment, the final model estimated an 8% reduction in road traffic mortality in Medell & iacute;n following photodetection implementation, with larger estimated reductions among men and individuals aged 15-44 years. Automated enforcement may contribute to injury prevention in urban settings with persistent road traffic mortality.
Built environment features derived from Google Street View (GSV) images offer valuable insights into urban safety, yet their role in pedestrian injury outcomes within school zones remains underexplored. This study analyses four years (2018-2021) of police-reported pedestrian-vehicle crash data from Seoul, South Korea, combined with GSV-based built environment features extracted using deep learning, to examine the annual temporal instability in injury severity between school and non-school zones. A random parameters multinomial logit model with heterogeneity in means was applied to capture unobserved variability, and marginal effects were estimated to assess factor-specific impacts across time and locations. Results indicate that higher proportions of buildings and traffic lights are associated with lower fatality probabilities. Significant temporal instability was observed, with factors such as drivers aged 56-65, evening periods, male drivers, and lower proportions of road and vegetation in school zones increasing the likelihood of severe or fatal injuries, particularly in recent years. Out-of-sample prediction simulations revealed notable differences in factor effects between school and non-school zones, highlighting the effectiveness of targeted safety interventions in school zones. Overall, the findings emphasize the need for dynamic assessments of built environment factors to support evidence-based pedestrian safety policies.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major risk factor for depression. Using Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021, we assessed IPV-attributable depression burden among females aged 15-34 years across 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2021. In 2021, the highest age-standardized DALY rates were observed in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, while Low SDI regions had the highest rate (48.85 per 100,000; 95% UI: 0.22-107.47). Globally, DALYs increased from 1.53 million in 1990 to 2.79 million in 2021, whereas the age-standardized DALY rate remained stable (EAPC = -0.08, 95% CI: -0.21 to 0.06). ARIMA and Holt's exponential smoothing models projected a continued increase in absolute DALYs among females through 2050. LMDI analysis identified population growth as the main contributor in Low SDI regions and epidemiological change as the main contributor in High SDI regions. Inequality analysis indicated widening socioeconomic disparities. These findings support targeted IPV prevention, resource allocation, and trauma-informed mental health services for females aged 15-34 years.
This narrative review examines the influence of helmet use on safety, comfort, cognition, and batting performance during cricket match play, with a view to proposing recommendations for design evolution and policy revision. The review involved an extensive exploration of leading databases, including Medline, SPORTDiscus, PubMed, and Scopus, covering the period from their inception to 30 December 2024. Findings confirm that helmets reduce head and facial injuries by attenuating impact forces, though visual obstruction and heat stress persist due to restricted airflow and faceguard design. Cognitive impacts vary: short-term use produces minimal effects on reaction time, whereas prolonged use may impair vigilance. Research on cardiovascular responses and repeated-sprint ability remains limited. The review concludes that helmets enhance safety but require better ventilation, fit, and adjustable faceguard gaps to balance protection and performance. Further studies on helmets' physiological and cognitive effects are needed to make cricket batting safer.
Road traffic injuries disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Although traffic safety culture, social norms, and normalisation of deviance have received increasing attention, the processes through which cultural conditions may generate and reproduce road behaviour remain insufficiently integrated into dominant road safety frameworks. This paper proposes the Cultural Road Safety Model (CRSM), a preliminary conceptual framework for examining these processes. CRSM conceptualises the driver as a cultural agent and considers the cultural conditions underlying persistent unsafe practices. The framework draws on behavioural, criminological, organisational change, and relational perspectives, with ubuntu providing the philosophical foundation operationalised for this paper's Southern African context. It proposes a five-phase pathway comprising cultural diagnosis, policy alignment, community engagement, pilot implementation, and institutionalisation. Three propositions concerning diagnostic alignment, community anchoring, and cross-domain deviance are advanced for empirical testing. The proposed cultural dimensions offer further opportunities for empirical measurement. As a conceptual contribution, CRSM offers a theoretical foundation for future empirical validation and refinement.
