Dominican Republic: Trauma Project Targets Motorcyclists

In the Spring of 2007, Headlines reported on an injury control project that an American resident in pediatrics, Dr. David Kessler, was working on in the Dominican Republic. Kessler, and a team of physicians from New York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University and the Dominican Republic had undertaken an injury surveillance project using data collected from emergency departments at various hospitals. The initial surveillance data showed that head injuries from motorcycle crashes were a serious injury problem – especially in young men. The team recommended that an initiative to promote the wearing of motorcycle helmets should be launched in an attempt to reduce the number of head injuries.

Beginning in February, 2008, the New York team from Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University joined by the Ministry of Sport, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health, Department of Transportation in the Dominican Republic, along with police, trauma centres, and students in a public health class at Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra will launch a motorcycle helmet initiative. The official launch will occur during the Caribbean World Series and use well-known Dominican baseball stars as spokesmen and also involve musicians, politicians and movie stars.

The organizers of the helmet initiative have tapped into excellent community support and plan to distribute helmets and promotional materials purchased from the donations. The public health students will evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative increasing helmet wearing and reducing head injury.

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