A qualitative approach to the intangible cost of road traffic injuries

Abstract

The consequences of fatal and non-fatal road traffic injuries (RTI) at the personal and household levels were analysed using qualitative interviews of 12 injured and of 12 relatives of people who died for this reason. Collisions change physical and mental health both of the injured and of their relatives. This leads to changes in daily activities and even to the redefinition of future life. RTI also changes the way people see and act in life, becoming an experience that teaches them. Survivors commonly transmit a road safety message afterwards. Changes in family life were evident (in extreme cases family's composition also changed), affecting intra-familial relationships. Associated unexpected and unplanned expenditures and loss of income have consequences in the short, medium and long term that unbalance household's economies and immerse people into a constant stress. Individuals and family's future plans are occasionally condition to whether they have or not debts. Household dependence in economic terms was sometimes observed, as well as uncertainty about future life and household's sustainability. Sometimes, households change and adapt their life to what they now are able to afford, having important repercussions in vital spheres.

Keywords:

• intangible cost
• road traffic injuries
• qualitative approach

Acknowledgements

This study was enriched with the valuable comments and suggestions from reviewers of the original research protocol: Dr. Carlos Santos Burgoa, Dr. Raúl Molina and Dr. Sandra Treviño, as well as from the observations from the anonymous reviewers from the National Institute of Public Health IRB Committee. I also thank Dr. Myriam Ruiz Rodríguez for her valuable comments on the original protocol. I thank the valuable participation of Ana Cecilia Méndez Magaña for looking for and identifying potential informants, the psychological support that María de la Luz Rodríguez Sevilla provided to all participants of the study, as well as Berenice Jáuregui Ortiz for doing most of the interviews and part of the preliminary analysis. I would like to thank also the support received from Dr. Julio César Dávalos Guzmán and Dr. María de Jesús Orozco Valerio during field work. I would like to thank the anonymous reviewer of the RTIRN and all the support from RTIRN former Secretariat team. I am in debt for the tireless administrative work provided in every stage of the project by Érika Gutiérrez Escobedo. Finally, I would like to give very special thanks to all the injured and their families for sharing their experience, allowing us to learn and think about this important public health topic. Thank you very much, to all of them. The present study was partly financed by the National Institute of Public Health and by the principal researcher's doctoral scholarship (File number 43842). Complementary financing was obtained by a contribution from the World Bank's Global Road Safety Facility and the Global Forum for Health Research through their grant facility to the Road Traffic Injuries Research Network (number of agreement RTIRNWB-004c).

Notes

1. For this purpose, the category of head of household was given to the person reported as such by the rest of the family.

2. Based on previous studies, it was considered that allowing this period of time was a pertinent measure directed to protect the emotional health of the people involved in the study.