Economic impact of fatal and nonfatal road traffic injuries in Belize in 2007 Repercusiones económicas de los traumatismos mortales y no mortales por accidentes de tránsito en Belice en 2007

• Main Authors: Ricardo Pérez-Núñez, Martha Híjar-Medina, Ileana Heredia-Pi, Sandra Jones, Eugênia Maria Silveira-Rodrigues
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2010
• Subjects: Accidentes de tránsito; costos de la atención en salud; costos y análisis de costo; Belice; Accidents; traffic; health care costs; costs and cost analysis; Belize; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/eb78d801e30b40c78f22495346356ef9

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the economic cost of road traffic injuries in Belize in 2007. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using secondary cost data, assuming the health system and social perspectives. Epidemiologic information was obtained from the mortality database, the national hospital discharge database, and administrative records from police and the Ministry of Health. A health provider survey was carried out in order to estimate the postdischarge ambulatory utilization figures. Direct cost was estimated with the World Health Organization WHO-CHOICE (CHOosing Interventions that are Cost Effective) database. Prehospital costs were obtained from the Belize emergency response team. After estimating years of potential life lost using the Belize life expectancy for 2008 and methodology proposed by the Pan American Health Organization, the indirect cost associated with premature death was estimated with the human capital approach. Total estimation of road traffic injuries' economic costs used a decision tree model approach. Multiway sensitivity analysis was used to incorporate uncertainty in the estimations. RESULTS: Sixty-one people died due to road traffic injuries during 2007, 338 were hospitalized, and 565 people were estimated to be slightly injured. A total of 2 501 years of potential life were lost in Belize due to premature death, with a total economic cost of US$11-062-544. This figure represents 0.9% of the Belize gross domestic product. Direct cost was estimated at US$163-503, of which 2.4% was spent on fatalities, 46.7% on the severely injured, and 50.9% on the slightly injured. CONCLUSIONS: The economic cost estimations make clear the need to prevent road traffic injuries with a strategic and multisectoral approach that focuses on addressing the main problems identified. OBJETIVO: Calcular el costo económico de los traumatismos por accidentes de tránsito registrados en Belice durante el año 2007. MÉTODOS. Se realizó un estudio transversal a partir de datos secundarios sobre los costos, ...