Impact of a program for the prevention of traffic accidents in a Southern Brazilian city: a model for implementation in a developing country.
BACKGROUND
Traffic accidents constitute the main cause of death in the first decades of life. Traumatic brain injury is the event most responsible for the severity of these accidents. The SBN started an educational program for the prevention of traffic accidents, adapted from the American model "Think First" to the Brazilian environment, since 1995, with special effort devoted to the prevention of TBI by using seat belts and motorcycle helmets. The objective of the present study was to set up a traffic accident prevention program based on the adapted Think First and to evaluate its impact by comparing epidemiological variables before and after the beginning of the program.


METHODS
The program was executed in Maringá city, from September 2004 to August 2005, with educational actions targeting the entire population, especially teenagers and young adults. The program was implemented by building a network of information facilitators and multipliers inside the organized civil society, with widespread population dissemination. To measure the impact of the program, a specific software was developed for the storage and processing of the epidemiological variables.


RESULTS
The results showed a reduction of trauma severity due to traffic accidents after the execution of the program, mainly TBI.


CONCLUSIONS
The adapted Think First was systematically implemented and its impact measured for the first time in Brazil, revealing the usefulness of the program for reducing trauma and TBI severity in traffic accidents through public education and representing a standardized model of implementation in a developing country.
Salvarani
Cármine Porcelli
CP
Division of Neurosurgery, Maringá Medical School, State University of Maringá Parana, Maringá, Parańa, Brazil. cinnmaringa@wnet.com.br
Colli
Benedicto Oscar
BO
Carlotti Júnior
Carlos Gilberto
CG
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000191:economics / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017677:Age Distribution; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002423:Cause of Death; D019058:Community Networks; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations / Q000592:standards; D003479:Curriculum; D003906:Developing Countries; D006260:Head Protective Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D035846:Law Enforcement; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D010819:Physician's Role; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D012042:Registries; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D012622:Seat Belts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D012984:Software; D014505:Urban Population