Saudi Arabian road accident mortality and traffic safety interventions dataset (2010–2020)

Increased traffic volumes worldwide have resulted in an increased number of road accident injuries and mortalities. This global phenomenon motivated the United Nations (UN) to initiate a decade-long global road safety plan in 2010. In response, Saudi Arabia concurrently initiated a comprehensive road safety program, supported by detailed and comprehensive road safety data for the Eastern Province (EP) of Saudi Arabia. The contributed EP-Traffic-Mortality-and-Policy-Interventions Dataset provides multidimensional road safety data for 2010–2020 via two primary and five secondary data subsets. The first primary subset provides road accident mortality data. The five secondary data subsets reflect road accident mortalities at different time scales and administrative (provincial or governorate) levels. The second primary subset provides details of traffic safety policy interventions implemented during the same period. Researchers and policymakers can use this comprehensive dataset to study accident mortality patterns across various geospatial and time scales and analyze the effectiveness of policies intended to mitigate road accident mortalities.

Temporal impacts of road safety interventions: A structural-shifts-based method for road accident mortality analysis

Extensive prior research has statistically analyzed the impact of infrastructural, policy, and environmental factors on road accidents, injuries, and mortalities. Most of these studies assumed long-term temporal stability in road safety data. These studies were later criticized for ignoring structural shifts in data over time caused by varying systemic influences such as socioeconomic and environmental factors, as well as major changes to road safety rules and networks. In this work, we proposed a novel four-phase methodology that identifies structural shifts or breaks in the road safety data and subsequently evaluates the role of various factors (including road safety interventions) in causing these breaks. The method is generalized, allowing different modeling bases and assumptions on the underlying data distribution. To demonstrate the merits of this methodology, we used it to investigate road accident mortality patterns in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and its subregions for the period 2010-2020, when a series of road safety interventions were introduced. The case study analysis revealed the varying impact of these interventions at both the provincial and governorate levels. These results can be used to evaluate the efficacy of road safety interventions. The lessons learned can help to develop more robust road safety management programs.

Assessment of Significant Factors Affecting Frequent Lane-Changing Related to Road Safety: An Integrated Approach of the AHP-BWM Model

Frequent lane changes cause serious traffic safety concerns for road users. The detection and categorization of significant factors affecting frequent lane changing could help to reduce frequent lane-changing risk. The main objective of this research study is to assess and prioritize the significant factors and sub-factors affecting frequent lane changing designed in a three-level hierarchical structure. As a multi-criteria decision-making methodology (MCDM), this study utilizes the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) combined with the best–worst method (BWM) to compare and quantify the specified factors. To illustrate the applicability of the proposed model, a real-life decision-making problem is considered, prioritizing the most significant factors affecting lane changing based on the driver’s responses on a designated questionnaire survey. The proposed model observed fewer pairwise comparisons (PCs) with more consistent and reliable results than the conventional AHP. For level 1 of the three-level hierarchical structure, the AHP–BWM model results show “traffic characteristics” (0.5148) as the most significant factor affecting frequent lane changing, followed by “human” (0.2134), as second-ranked factor. For level 2, “traffic volume” (0.1771) was observed as the most significant factor, followed by “speed” (0.1521). For level 3, the model results show “average speed” (0.0783) as first-rank factor, followed by the factor “rural” (0.0764), as compared to other specified factors. The proposed integrated approach could help decision-makers to focus on highlighted significant factors affecting frequent lane-changing to improve road safety.

Bibliometric analysis of road traffic injuries research in the Gulf Cooperation Council region

Background: Despite governmental interventions, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region continues to experience higher road traffic crash and fatality rates relative to Western nations. This trend suggests a potential disconnect between Road Traffic Injuries (RTI) research and the mitigation measures put in place. Method: Here, we present an in-depth bibliometric analysis to obtain a comprehensive understanding of RTI research in the GCC region. The Web of Science database was used to search and retrieve the relevant articles during the period of 1981-2019. Results: The volume of RTI research increased from 2015-2019, suggesting an increased focus on traffic safety in the GCC region. Saudi Arabia had the highest RTI research productivity level (126 publications); Bahrain had the lowest (7 publications). Inconsistent with its low publication volume, Hammad Medical Corps of Qatar had the highest citation impact score of 16.33. Global collaboration for RTI research was highest between Saudi Arabia and the United States. The most prevalent publication journal for the region was Accident Analysis and Prevention. The most common keywords were " road traffic accidents" and " road traffic injuries"; terms such as " mobile phones", " pedestrian safety", " pedestrians", and " distracted driving" were least common. In the five most productive GCC nations with respect to RTI research (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman), researchers tended to publish works related to road traffic safety in traffic safety-oriented journals. Conclusions: The quantity and quality of RTI publications in GCC is insufficient to meet the increasing related public health and economic burden in the region. The trends among publication volumes, citations, and impact were inconsistent. There is a lack of research collaboration among the institutions. Most of the research related to RTI is being conducted by researchers with a medical background. Research focusing on pedestrians, cyclists and road user behavior is also inadequate.

Bibliometric analysis of road traffic injuries research in the Gulf Cooperation Council region

Background: Despite governmental interventions, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region continues to experience higher road traffic crash and fatality rates relative to Western nations. This trend suggests a potential disconnect between Road Traffic Injuries (RTI) research and the mitigation measures put in place. Method: Here, we present an in-depth bibliometric analysis to obtain a comprehensive understanding of RTI research in the GCC region. The Web of Science database was used to search and retrieve the relevant articles during the period of 1981-2019. Results: The volume of RTI research increased from 2015-2019, suggesting an increased focus on traffic safety in the GCC region. Saudi Arabia had the highest RTI research productivity level (126 publications); Bahrain had the lowest (7 publications). Inconsistent with its low publication volume, Hammad Medical Corps of Qatar had the highest citation impact score of 16.33. Global collaboration for RTI research was highest between Saudi Arabia and the United States. The most prevalent publication journal for the region was Accident Analysis and Prevention. The most common keywords were " road traffic accidents" and " road traffic injuries"; terms such as " mobile phones", " pedestrian safety", " pedestrians", and " distracted driving" were least common. In the five most productive GCC nations with respect to RTI research (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman), researchers tended to publish works related to road traffic safety in traffic safety-oriented journals. Conclusions: The quantity and quality of RTI publications in GCC is insufficient to meet the increasing related public health and economic burden in the region. The trends among publication volumes, citations, and impact were inconsistent. There is a lack of research collaboration among the institutions. Most of the research related to RTI is being conducted by researchers with a medical background. Research focusing on pedestrians, cyclists and road user behavior is also inadequate.

Oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS in a Kenyan provincial hospital

BACKGROUND

In Kenya many patients exposed to the HIV infection present with orofacial lesions as the primary manifestations of the disease and only a few studies have been performed to document this observation.

OBJECTIVE

To clinically evaluate and document the range and pattern of oral lesions in a group of hospitalised patients with HIV-infection.

DESIGN

A prospective study.

SETTING

Coast Province General Hospital in Mombasa, Kenya, which is the main referral institution serving a population of approximately two million people.

METHODS

Examination of all the cases included in the study was performed according to the WHO criteria. Both male and female patients aged 16 years and above were selected. The criterion of recruitment was based on a suspicion of immunosuppression, the presence of oral manifestations and the willingness to participate in the study. Prior to the examination each patient had undergone counselling followed by two consecutive screening tests using the ELISA technique. Where indicated incisional biopsy was performed to confirm the clinical diagnosis of the relevant lesions. In collaboration with the medical team, treatment was administered as per the needs of the patient in terms of anti-fungals, antivirals or topical cortisteroids.

RESULTS

Of the 61 cases, 25(41%) were males and 36(59%) females with an age range of 19 to 65 years (mean = 34.7 years). While all the cases had periodontal disease, over 80% had candidiasis of the hyperplastic, erythematous and pseudomembraneous types. Lymphadenopathy and angular cheilitis were each diagnosed in 27.9% of the cases; while oral Kaposi's sarcoma was seen in 13% of the patients. Other conditions seen included persistent oral ulceration (11.5%), oral hairy leukopLakia and herpes zoster each constituting 4.9%; herpes simplex, mucosal hyperpigmentation, parotomegaly and facial palsy each comprised six per cent and oral warts seen in one case. In accordance with the pattern and prevalence of oral manifestations in our study, the results were largely consistent with those documented elsewhere.

CONCLUSION

For the alleviation of the morbidity arising from the commonly occurring lesions, early detection is mandatory. Furthermore, documentation of the varied regional patterns of occurrence of these lesions may aid in the rational application of the emerging treatments.