The Psychosocial Effects of Road Traffic Accident in Addis Ababa : Voice of victims and their perspectives

Road traffic accident takes thousands of lives everyday around the world. Millions of these accident victims are left with disabilities. The health, psychological and social effects of the accident are also tremendous. It mostly affects the productive age group between 14 and 44 in Africa. Road crash fatalities are high among pedestrians, passengers and drivers respectively. Apart from death and property damages, the psychosocial effects of the accident on the victims are incalculable. Thus, this study undertook to assess the psychosocial effects of car accident among disability victims in Minilik hospital, Addis Ababa. This monograph reflects the tragic experiences of victims from their point of views. The study analyzed its effect on their family, social relations, engagement in work, their health conditions. Finally, the study identified implications for professional practice that could help people who are working to improve the psychosocial well being of victims in the area of trauma services, public health interventions, enhancing the skill of victims to cope with adverse effect of accident and identifying possible policy interventions.