@article{ref1,
title="Road traffic injuries in Peace Corps Volunteers, 1996-2014",
journal="Injury prevention",
year="2017",
author="Ferguson, Rennie W. and Henderson, Susan J. and Jung, Paul",
volume="23",
number="2",
pages="75-80",
abstract="INTRODUCTION: Road traffic injuries are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Travellers are at risk given unfamiliarity with local road conditions and traffic rules. Peace Corps Volunteers are a unique population of long-term travellers who live and work in-country, often in remote settings, over a period of 27 months and use a range of transportation modes. <br><br>METHODS: Data from Peace Corps' Epidemiologic Surveillance System (ESS) and Death In-Service (DIS) database were analysed in 2015 for non-fatal and fatal road traffic injuries among in-service Volunteers from 1996 to 2014. Volunteer-months were used to calculate incidence rates, and rates were compared among countries and regions. <br><br>RESULTS: A total of 5047 non-fatal and 15 fatal road crash injuries were reported during 1 616 252 Volunteer-months for an overall rate of 3.12 non-fatal injuries and 0.01 fatalities per 1000 Volunteer-months. The total combined rate of nonfatal road traffic injuries among Volunteers generally declined from 4.01 per 1000 Volunteer-months in 1996 to 2.84 in 2014. Pedestrian and bicycle injuries emerged as the most frequent mechanisms of injury during this timeframe. Differences in rates of observed road traffic-related fatalities among Volunteers compared with expected age-matched cohort rates in the US were not statistically significant. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Peace Corps transportation policies and training, and changes to road environments worldwide, may have led to a decrease in the rate of road traffic injuries among Peace Corps Volunteers. Pedestrians and bicyclists remain at risk of road traffic injuries.<br><br>Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1353-8047",
doi="10.1136/injuryprev-2016-042044",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2016-042044"
}