title: Motorcycle injury among secondary school students in the Tiko municipality, Cameroon.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Injury from motorcycle is a considerable cause of disability and death in the world and especially in low and middle-income countries; it is one of the most serious public health problems. In Cameroon, motorcycle is commonly used for transportation particularly among students. The aim of this paper is to study the risk-factors of the motorcycle-related accidents and injuries among secondary school students' in the Tiko municipality, Cameroon.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross sectional study was conducted in January 2012 on 391 students age 16-24 from public and private schools in the Tiko Municipality. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between risk factors and injuries. A closed-ended and few open-ended questionnaire was used to collect data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study showed that over 70% of students used motorcycles always or often. Few had undergone any formal training for driving a motorcycle. The vast majority reported not wearing protective gear while driving or riding a motorcycle. Usage of protective gear was particularly low among girls. Over 16% reported using a motorbike always or occasionally under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Over 58% of respondents reported having an accident and over 35% were injured when driving or riding a motorcycle. Those who lived at the Tiko-Douala road have three times higher probability to sustain accidents and injuries than students residing elsewhere (OR 3.19 (1.20-8.46).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is deeply alarming that every second respondent in the study reported having been in an accident and every third motorcycle user was somehow injured. We therefore call for an immediate attention and a deeper investigation into the highlighted situation, particularly at Tiko-Douala road.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Asonganyi Edwin
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Nyagwui
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Namatovu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fredinah
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Longho Bernard
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Che
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Blomstedt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yulia
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D002163:Cameroon / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D000066448:Driving Under the Influence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006260:Head Protective Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009049:Motorcycles; D012307:Risk Factors; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Awareness; accident; injury; practice; safety; students