“In an effort to maximise patient outcomes in everyday road accidents, IIHS has conducted a series of research projects to analyse the multiple aspects of first on scene First Aid.”
Road Traffic Accidents are the third biggest killer of Sri Lankans. The failure and deficient knowledge of responders during the first few hours of an accident has resulted in increased death rates in the event of serious crashes. Road traffic injuries cause considerable economic losses to individuals, their families, and to societies as a whole.
Substantial losses arise from the cost of treatment, lost productivity for those killed or disabled by their injuries, and for family members who must take time of work or school to care for the injured. Sri Lanka has grappled with this growing crisis for many decades now as its economy and driving population has expanded. IIIHS has sought to play its part.
Often a transport accident victim’s condition is said to be aggravated due to unskilled attempts made by initial responders. This is typically during the attempts of three-wheel drivers, policemen and pedestrians to transfer and transport victims to healthcare facilities. Risk factors include speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and other psychoactive substances, distracted driving, the absence of protective equipment, and/or failure to wear seatbelts.
Ironically, after an injury has taken place, the depth of the severity can be reduced by the rescuer before the injured reaches proper medical service. But this opportunity is often missed, and on the contrary, too often the severity of the injury is enhanced.
In 2017 the research forum “Road Traffic Accidents – Healthy Roads” brought to light four main reasons for RTAs – drinking and driving, texting while driving, reckless driving and driving under the influence of drugs.
Project objectives were as follows;
- 1. To improve awareness among the community on facts of Road Traffic Accidents
- 2. To reduce the fatality of Road Traffic Accidents.
- 3. To increase the community engagement by IIHS Students.
This project consisted of three phases. The first phase aims to raise awareness on Road Traffic Accidents among the community through social media campaigns with a focus on the consequences of careless driving and the importance of road safety. The project’s second phase aims to provide basic First Aid knowledge to school children and three-wheeler drivers in order to improve their knowledge, attitude and practice on emergency response methods. The third phase of this project aims to create an emergency responding network assembling responsible people such as Policemen, Emergency Medical Technicians and nearby hospitals.
Students were given the opportunity to role-play in different scenarios in relation to above mentioned three phases along with the participation of respective professionals including police officers, nurses, doctors and emergency treatment staff. The project outcomes resulted in a combined initiative to ensure healthy lives and to promote wellbeing for all. Further, this project improved community socialization between the attendees and also improved their self-wellness.
