RESUMO
The major focus of this review is to establish concussion in sport as a silent epidemic in our society that is not an accident. Brain injury has a definitive pattern and distinct nonrandom predictable characteristic. The development of successful head protection requires a scientific database approach to the mechanics of headgear. It is the responsibility of the health care clinician to help with the maintenance of protective standards for headgear and support rule changes to decrease the morbidity and mortality of athletes.
Assuntos
Traumatismos em Atletas/prevenção & controle , Concussão Encefálica/prevenção & controle , Desenho de Equipamento/história , Dispositivos de Proteção da Cabeça/história , Equipamentos Esportivos/história , Traumatismos em Atletas/etiologia , Fenômenos Biomecânicos , Concussão Encefálica/etiologia , Desenho de Equipamento/tendências , Dispositivos de Proteção da Cabeça/normas , Dispositivos de Proteção da Cabeça/tendências , História do Século XX , História do Século XXI , Humanos , Equipamentos Esportivos/normas , Tecnologia/históriaRESUMO
Injuries resulting from motorcycle crashes constitute a growing problem in Argentina and other Latin American countries. The problem is aggravated because helmet use is not widespread. This observational study analysed the prevalence of helmet use and related factors in a city in Argentina. The sample consisted of 2542 observations of motorcyclists. The results show an incidence of helmet use of 69.8% for drives and 43.4% for passengers. Helmet use was greater among women. Environmental and temporal conditions were related with the rate of helmet use. The findings indicate a considerable increase in helmet use with respect to prior years, providing evidence in favour of government policies. However, the number of motorcycles in circulation has tripled in the past five years, and therefore, the public health impact of injuries due to motorcycle crashes persists.
Assuntos
Dispositivos de Proteção da Cabeça/estatística & dados numéricos , Motocicletas/estatística & dados numéricos , População Urbana/estatística & dados numéricos , Argentina , Feminino , Dispositivos de Proteção da Cabeça/tendências , Humanos , Masculino , Motocicletas/legislação & jurisprudência , Fatores Sexuais , Tempo (Meteorologia)RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Traffic accidents constitute the main cause of death in the first decades of life. Traumatic brain injury is the event most responsible for the severity of these accidents. The SBN started an educational program for the prevention of traffic accidents, adapted from the American model "Think First" to the Brazilian environment, since 1995, with special effort devoted to the prevention of TBI by using seat belts and motorcycle helmets. The objective of the present study was to set up a traffic accident prevention program based on the adapted Think First and to evaluate its impact by comparing epidemiological variables before and after the beginning of the program. METHODS: The program was executed in Maringá city, from September 2004 to August 2005, with educational actions targeting the entire population, especially teenagers and young adults. The program was implemented by building a network of information facilitators and multipliers inside the organized civil society, with widespread population dissemination. To measure the impact of the program, a specific software was developed for the storage and processing of the epidemiological variables. RESULTS: The results showed a reduction of trauma severity due to traffic accidents after the execution of the program, mainly TBI. CONCLUSIONS: The adapted Think First was systematically implemented and its impact measured for the first time in Brazil, revealing the usefulness of the program for reducing trauma and TBI severity in traffic accidents through public education and representing a standardized model of implementation in a developing country.