Do Socio-Cultural Norms Play a Role in Road Traffic Injuries?

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Center on Commercial Determinants (CCDH) at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) has partnered with Fundación MAPFRE, a nonprofit foundation established by MAPFRE in 1975, on the ‘Socio-Cultural Context of Road Safety’ (SOCCR) project. The unique SOCCR project aims to understand the role of societal norms, opinions and influencers on road safety in communities, with a focus on young people.

“This is an extremely important, and yet less-explored component, of global road safety – especially since a large proportion of the causalities are young people,” said Adnan Hyder, MD, PhD, MPH, director of CCDH and senior associate dean for research at Milken Institute SPH.

Road traffic injuries (RTI) are responsible for over 1.3 million people deaths annually around the world – most of which are young people. There has been great concern building on the Decade of Action for Road Safety and the prevention of the epidemic of RTI. While multiple factors have been linked to RTI, socio-cultural norms remain less studied as a determinant of road safety.

“This project represents a strong collaboration with our partners at MAPFRE Foundation,” said Nino Paichadze, MD, MPH, associate director of CCDH and assistant research professor of global health at Milken Institute SPH. “It builds on our existing collaborations in global road safety.”

This project will study multiple countries to explore the current state of knowledge on socio-cultural norms, their impact on road safety with a focus on young people, as well as convene a group of thought leaders to develop a conceptual framework and theory of change for socio-cultural determinants and road safety.

“Traditionally, the road traffic system has relied on the three Es (engineering, enforcement and education), and we have probably neglected other important underlying constructs, such as our mobility culture and our social determinants,” said Jesús Monclús, PhD, managing director of the Prevention and Road Safety Area of Fundación MAPFRE. “This joint effort by the Milken Institute and Fundación MAPFRE aims to shed light into this mostly unexplored ingredient of road safety.”

In addition to Hyder, Paichadze and Monclús, the research team includes Imran Bari, BDS, MPS, MPH, research program associate at Milken Institute SPH, and graduate student Venkatesh Pandey. Along with expert advisors, the team aims to develop a novel paper summarizing their findings. Support for this CCDH project comes from the MAPFRE Foundation.

About Center on Commercial Determinants of Health (CCDH), Milken Institute School of Public Health, the George Washington University

Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University is the only school of public health in the nation’s capital, Washington D.C. The Center on Commercial Determinants of Health (CCDH) at Milken Institute SPH is one of the world’s first research centers dedicated to studying and addressing corporate engagement in public health with a focus on vulnerable populations across the globe. Visit https://ccdh.gwu.edu for more information about CCDH.

About Fundación MAPFRE

Fundación MAPFRE is a nonprofit organization created by MAPFRE in 1975 to promote the well-being of society and citizens across the company’s footprint. Active in 30 countries, Fundación MAPFRE focuses on five areas: Road Safety and Injury Prevention, including fires, mishaps at home and drownings; Insurance and Social Protection; Culture; Social Action; and Health Promotion. Please visit https://www.fundacionmapfre.org/fundacion/en for more information about Fundación MAPFRE.