Supervisory team
LSHTM
Prof. Phil Edwards, Faculty of Epidemiology (Lead supervisor)
https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/people/edwards.phil
Nagasaki University
Prof. Lay Myint Yoshida, School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health
https://www.tmgh.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/en/professors/lay-myint-yoshida
Project
Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years. More than half of all road traffic deaths are among vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians.[1]
Many low- and middle-income countries transition from predominantly bicycle-based transport to motorised transport, and this transition changes the road injury risks for vulnerable road-users, such as children, pedestrians, cyclists, and elderly people.[2]
The aim of this studentship is to investigate the relationship between household access to motorised vehicles and household members suffering road traffic injuries. Data from households in Nha Trang on access to motorised transport will be linked to hospital discharge data on road traffic injuries, to allow an investigation of this relationship.
The project will present some methodological ‘challenges’:
Since it is known that not every road injury ‘casualty’ will seek medical attention for their injuries, this presents an opportunity for the student to design and conduct a ‘Capture-recapture study’ to estimate the true prevalence of road traffic injuries in Nha Trang.
The Capture-recapture method has been used in epidemiology, to estimate morbidity and mortality using multiple, overlapping, but incomplete data sources.[3] The method has also been used to estimate road traffic injury morbidity and mortality.[4,5]
References
- WHO Road Traffic Injuries. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffic-injuries
- Sperling D, Clausen E. The Developing World’s Motorisation Challenge. Issues in Science and Technology 2002;19(1):59–66.
- Stephen C. Capture-recapture methods in epidemiological studies. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 1996;17(4):262-6. doi: 10.1086/647290
- Amoros, E., Martin, J.L. and Laumon, B. Estimating non-fatal road casualties in a large French county, using the capture–recapture method. Accident Analysis & Prevention 2007;39(3)483-490.
- Abegaz, T., Berhane, Y., Worku, A., Assrat, A. and Assefa, A. Road traffic deaths and injuries are under-reported in Ethiopia: a capture-recapture method. PloS One 2014;9(7), p.e103001.
The role of LSHTM and NU in this collaborative project
Prof Edwards has conducted original research and supervised four PhDs in Injury Epidemiology & Prevention. Prof Lay Mynt has been running a wide variety of community-based pediatric health projects in Nha Trang city in central Vietnam. Jointly they are well-positioned to supervise the proposed project.
Particular prior educational requirements for a student undertaking this project
Competency in mathematics
Skills we expect a student to develop/acquire whilst pursuing this project
Injury epidemiology