The Buffering analysis to identify common geographical factors within the vicinity of severe injury related to motor vehicle crash in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: The main objective was to identify common geographical buildup within the 100-meter buffer of severely injured based on injury severity score (ISS) among the motor vehicle crash (MVC) victims in Malaysia.

METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study from July 2011 until June 2013 and involved all MVC patients attending emergency departments (ED) of two tertiary centers in a district in Malaysia. A set of digital maps was obtained from the Town Planning Unit of the district Municipal Office (local district map). Vector spaces were spanned over these maps using GIS software (ARCGIS 10.1 licensed to the study center), and data from the identified severe injured cases based on ISS of 16 or more were added. Buffer analysis was performed and included all events occurring within a 100 -meter perimeter around a reference point.

RESULTS: A total of 439 cases were recruited over the ten-month data collection period. Fifty two (11%) of the cases were categorized as severe cased based on ISS scoring of 16 and more. Further buffer analysis looking at the buildup areas within the vicinity of the severely injured locations showed that most of the severe injuries occurred at locations on municipal roads (15, 29%), straight roads (16, 30%) and within villages buildup (suburban) areas (18, 35%).

CONCLUSION: This study has successfully achieved its objective in identifying common geographical factors and buildup areas within the vicinity of severely injured road traffic cases.