Grant: Project Grant

Traffic injuries are a leading cause of disability and death in Canada and around the world. British Columbia (BC) aims to address inequalities in traffic injuries for marginalized people and communities. Traffic injury risk depends on both individual characteristics and on broader social and built environment conditions. Disadvantaged individuals and neighbourhoods are at higher risk for traffic injury, but Canadian research on this topic is limited. This proposed research will provide in-depth understanding of the risk of traffic injury, and severity of injuries, for disadvantaged peoples and places in BC. We will analyze BC government data from 2015 to 2019 to better understand patterns in traffic injury risk and severity, in different times and places. We will 1) map traffic injury rates in different neighbourhoods, to understand how neighbourhood characteristics influence road trauma; 2) investigate whether disadvantaged individuals are at higher risk for traffic injury, and whether neighbourhood characteristics increase or decrease risk; and 3) explore whether certain populations are more likely to have a severe injury following a collision, and if the risk changes with different neighbourhood features. This study will build partnerships between government and academics, while also forming a foundation for understanding inequalities in traffic injury rates and severity in different populations and places. Understanding the uneven distribution of traffic injuries through a social environment and equity lens is a prerequisite for working towards a just, health promoting transportation system.