Browsing by Author "Mutto, Milton"

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Epidemiology of Child Injuries in Uganda: Challenges for Health Policy
(Page Press Publ, 2011-03-01) Hsia, Y Renee; Ozgediz, Doruk; Jayaraman, Sudha; Kyamanywa, Patrick; Mutto, Milton; Kobusingye, C Olive
Globally, 90%ofroad crash deaths occurin the developing world. Children in Africa bear the major part of this burden, with the highest unintentional injury rates in the world. Our study aims to better understand injury patterns among children living in Kampala, Uganda and provide evidence that injuries are significant in child health. Trauma registry records of injured children seen at Mulago Hospital in Kampala were analysed. Data were collected when patients were seen initially and included patient condition, demographics, clinical variables, cause, severity, as measured by the Kampala trauma score, and location of injury. Outcomes were captured on discharge from the casualty department and at two weeks for admitted patients. From August 2004 to August 2005, 872 injuryvisitsforchildren <18 years old were recorded. The mean age was 11 years (95% CI 10.9-11.6); 68% (95% CI 65-72%) were males; 64% were treated in casualty and discharged; 35% were admitted. The most common causes were traffic crashes (34%), falls (18%) and violence (15%). Most children (87%) were mildly injured; 1% severely injured. By two weeks, 6% of the patients admitted for injuries had died and, of these morbidities, 16% had severe injuries, 63% had moderate injuries and 21% had mild injuries. We concluded that, in Kampala,children bear a large burden of injury from preventable causes. Deaths in low severity patients highlight the need for improvements in facility based care. Further studies are necessary to capture overall child injury mortality and to measure chronic morbidity owing to sequelae of injuries.
Epidemiology of Injuries Presenting to the National Hospital in Kampala, Uganda: Implications for Research and Policy
(BMC , Campus, 4 Crinan St, London, England, N1 9XW, 2010-07-20) Hsia, Renee Y.; Ozgediz, Doruk; Mutto, Milton; Jayaraman, Sudha; Kyamanywa, Patrick; Kobusingye, Olive C.
Background Despite the growing burden of injuries in LMICs, there are still limited primary epidemiologic data to guide health policy and health system development. Understanding the epidemiology of injury in developing countries can help identify risk factors for injury and target interventions for prevention and treatment to decrease disability and mortality. Aim To estimate the epidemiology of the injury seen in patients presenting to the government hospital in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. Methods A secondary analysis of a prospectively collected database collected by the Injury Control Centre-Uganda at the Mulago National Referral Hospital, Kampala, Uganda, 2004-2005. Results From 1 August 2004 to 12 August 2005, a total of 3,750 injury-related visits were recorded; a final sample of 3,481 records were analyzed. The majority of patients (62%) were treated in the casualty department and then discharged; 38% were admitted. Road traffic injuries (RTIs) were the most common causes of injury for all age groups in this sample, except for those under 5 years old, and accounted for 49% of total injuries. RTIs were also the most common cause of mortality in trauma patients. Within traffic injuries, more passengers (44%) and pedestrians (30%) were injured than drivers (27%). Other causes of trauma included blunt/penetrating injuries (25% of injuries) and falls (10%). Less than 5% of all patients arriving to the emergency department for injuries arrived by ambulance. Conclusions Road traffic injuries are by far the largest cause of both morbidity and mortality in Kampala. They are the most common cause of injury for all ages, except those younger than 5, and school-aged children comprise a large proportion of victims from these incidents. The integration of injury control programs with ongoing health initiatives is an urgent priority for health and development.
Estimating the burden of road traffic crashes in Uganda using police and health sector data sources
(BMJ Publishing Group , British Med Assoc House, Tavistock Square, London, England, Wc1h 9jr, 2021) Maring Muni, Kennedy; Ningwa, Albert; Osuret, Jimmy; Zziwa Bayiga, Esther; Namatovu, Stellah; Biribawa, Claire; Nakafeero, Mary; Mutto, Milton; Guwatudde, David; Kyamanywa, Patrick Edrin; Kobusingye, Olive
Background In many low-income countries, estimates of road injury burden are derived from police reports, and may not represent the complete picture of the burden in these countries. As a result, WHO and the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Project often use complex models to generate country-specific estimates. Although such estimates inform prevention targets, they may be limited by the incompleteness of the data and the assumptions used in the models. In this crosssectional study, we provide an alternative approach to estimating road traffic injury burden for Uganda for the year 2016 using data from multiple data sources (the police, health facilities and mortuaries). Methods A digitised data collection tool was used to extract crash and injury information from files in 32 police stations, 31 health facilities and 4 mortuaries in Uganda. We estimated crash and injury burden using weights generated as inverse of the product of the probabilities of selection of police regions and stations. Results We estimated that 25 729 crashes occurred on Ugandan roads in 2016, involving 59 077 individuals with 7558 fatalities. This is more than twice the number of fatalities reported by the police for 2016 (3502) but lower than the estimate from the 2018 Global Status Report (12 036). Pedestrians accounted for the greatest proportion of the fatalities 2455 (32.5%), followed by motorcyclists 1357 (18%). Conclusions Using both police and health sector data gives more robust estimates for the road traffic burden in Uganda than using either source alone.
Interventions to Reduce Pedestrian Road Traffic Injuries: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials, Cluster Randomized Controlled Trials, Interrupted Time-series, and Controlled Before-after Studies
(Public Library Science, 1160 Battery Street, Ste 100, San Francisco, Usa, Ca, 94111, 2022) Namatovu, Stellah; Balugaba, Bonny E; Muni, Kennedy; Ningwa, Albert; Nsabagwa, Linda; Oporia, Fredrick; Kiconco, Arthur; Kyamanywa, Patrick; Mutto, Milton; Osuret, Jimmy; Rehfuess, Evan A; Burns, Jacob; Kobusingye, Olive
Background Road traffic injuries are among the top ten causes of death globally, with the highest burden in low and middle-income countries, where over a third of deaths occur among pedestrians and cyclists. Several interventions to mitigate the burden among pedestrians have been widely implemented, however, the effectiveness has not been systematically examined. Objectives To assess the effectiveness of interventions to reduce road traffic crashes, injuries, hospitalizations and deaths among pedestrians. Methods We considered studies that evaluated interventions to reduce road traffic crashes, injuries, hospitalizations and/or deaths among pedestrians. We considered randomized controlled trials, interrupted time-series studies, and controlled before-after studies. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, WHO Global Health Index, Health Evidence, Transport Research International Documentation and ClinicalTrials.gov through 31 August 2020, and the reference lists of all included studies. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts and full texts, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. We summarized findings narratively with text and tables. Results A total of 69123 unique records were identified through the searches, with 26 of these meeting our eligibility criteria. All except two of these were conducted in high-income countries and most were from urban settings. The majority of studies observed either a clear effect favoring the intervention or an unclear effect potentially favoring the intervention and these included: changes to the road environment (19/27); changes to legislation and enforcement (12/12); and road user behavior/education combined with either changes to the road environment (3/3) or with legislation and enforcement (1/1). A small number of studies observed either a null effect or an effect favoring the control. Conclusions Although the highest burden of road traffic injuries exists in LMICs, very few studies have examined the effectiveness of available interventions in these settings. Studies indicate that road environment, legislation and enforcement interventions alone produce positive effects on pedestrian safety. In combination with or with road user behavior/education interventions they are particularly effective in improving pedestrian safety.
State of Pedestrian Road Safety in Uganda: A Qualitative Study of Existing Interventions
(Makerere Univ, Coll Health Sciences,Sch Med , Po Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda, 00000, 2021) Osuret, Jimmy; Namatovu, Stellah; Biribawa, Claire; Balugaba, Bonny E; Zziwa, Esther Bayiga; Muni, Kennedy; Ningwa, Albert; Oporia, Fredrick; Mutto, Milton; Kyamanywa, Patrick; Guwatudde, David; Kobusingye, Olive
Background: Pedestrians in Uganda account for 40% of road traffic fatalities and 25% of serious injuries annually. We explored the current pedestrian road traffic injury interventions in Uganda to understand why pedestrian injuries and deaths continue despite the presence of interventions. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study that involved a desk review of road safety policy, regulatory documents, and reports. We supplemented the document review with 14 key informant interviews and 4 focus group discussions with par- ticipants involved in road safety. Qualitative thematic content analysis was done using ATLAS. ti 7 software. Results: Five thematic topics emerged. Specifically, Uganda had a Non-Motorized Transport Policy whose implementation revealed several gaps. The needs of pedestrians and contextual evidence were ignored in road systems. The key program- matic challenges in pedestrian road safety management included inadequate funding, lack of political support, and lack of stakeholder collaboration. There was no evidence of plans for monitoring and evaluation of the various pedestrian road safety interventions. Conclusion: The research revealed low prioritization of pedestrian needs in the design, implementation, and evaluation of pedestrian road safety interventions. Addressing Uganda’s pedestrian needs requires concerted efforts to coordinate all road safety activities, political commitment, and budgetary support at all levels.
State of pedestrian road safety in Uganda: are interventions failing or absent?
(2019) Osuret, Jimmy; Namatovu, Stellah; Biribawa, Claire; Balugaba, Bonny E; Zziwa, Esther Bayiga; Muni, Kennedy; Ningwa, Albert; Oporia, Frederick; Mutto, Milton; Kyamanywa, Patrick; Guwatudde, David; Kobusingye, Olive
Background In Uganda, pedestrians are the most frequently injured category of road users, accounting for 40% of road traffic fatalities and 25% of serious injuries every year. There is paucity of information on existing pedestrian interventions and challenges that affect their implementation in Uganda. In this paper, we ascertain the state of pedestrian road safety interventions in Uganda and explore the challenges in the process of design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of existing interventions. Methods We conducted a qualitative study that started with a desk review of existing policy documents, police statistics, media reports, non-governmental organization reports, and published research. We supplemented the review with 14 key informant interviews and 4 focus group discussions. Participants were drawn from various agencies and stakeholders responsible for road safety. In total, we collected and synthesized data on the design, implementation, and evaluation of pedestrian safety interventions from 25 documents. Data were analyzed using qualitative thematic content analysis. Results The National Road Safety Council within the Ministry of Works and Transport is the lead agency tasked with coordinating all road safety efforts, while the Uganda Police is largely engaged in enforcing pedestrian safety. We identified several existing policies and regulations for pedestrian safety like the Non-Motorized Transport policy whose implementation has been inadequate. Implementation is constrained by weak institutional capacity and limited resources. Moreover, road safety stakeholders operated in silos and this hindered efforts to coordinate pedestrian safety activities. Interventions like road designs were implemented with limited reference to any supporting data and therefore did not cater for pedestrian needs. Conclusion There are interventions targeting pedestrian safety in Uganda, but effective implementation is lacking or failing due to constraints related to weak institutional capacity. This necessitates strategies to mobilize resources to strengthen the capacity of the lead agency to effectively coordinate road safety interventions.