A study on knowledge and practice of road safety among medical students of S.N. Medical College, Karnataka

Abstract

Background: Globally 1.25 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among young people, aged 15-29 years. 90% of the world's fatalities on the roads occur in low-and middle-income countries. Aims and objectives: to know the socio-demographic profile and knowledge, attitude and practice among medical students in S.N. Medical College Bagalkot. Methods: A cross sectional study. Study was conducted from March-June 2016. Data collected from 90 undergraduate medical students after obtaining informed consent. It was semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Good knowledge was seen among 74 (82.2%) of the participants. Majority had good attitude 80 (88.9%) about RTA. But the good practice is seen only among 53 (58.9%) and 37 (41.1%) have poor practice among participants. Gender is statistically significant with knowledge (p value-0.015). Conclusions:The knowledge didn't translate into practice. Hence laws should be made stringent.