title: Reporting on road traffic injury: content analysis of injuries and prevention opportunities in Ghanaian newspapers.
abstract: In order to analyse traffic injury reporting in Ghanaian newspapers and identify opportunities for improving road safety, the content of 240 articles on road traffic injury was reviewed from 2005 to 2006 editions of two state-owned and two privately owned newspapers. The articles comprised reports on vehicle crashes (37%), commentaries (33%), informational pieces (12%), reports on pedestrian injury (10%), and editorials (8%). There was little coverage of pedestrian injuries, which account for half of the traffic fatalities in Ghana, but only 22% of newspaper reports. Only two articles reported on seatbelt use. Reporting patterns were similar between public and private papers, but private papers more commonly recommended government action (50%) than did public papers (32%, p=0.006). It is concluded that Ghanaian papers provide detailed coverage of traffic injury. Areas for improvement include pedestrian injury and attention to preventable risk factors such as road risk factors, seatbelt use, speed control, and alcohol use.
authors.affiliation: CSIR-Building and Road Research Institute, Kumasi, Ghana. kofi.yankson@gmail.com
authors.forename: Isaac Kofi
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Yankson
authors.forename: Edmund N L
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Browne
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tagbor
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Donkor
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Quansah
authors.forename: George Ernest
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Asare
authors.forename: Charles N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Mock
authors.forename: Beth E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Ebel
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001334:Automobile Driving; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009524:Newspapers as Topic; D017149:Private Sector; D017150:Public Sector; D012307:Risk Factors; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*