http://repository.usmf.md:80/xmlui/handle/20.500.12710/23574 2026-04-04T22:32:04Z http://repository.usmf.md:80/xmlui/handle/20.500.12710/23601 Child safety restraint patterns in Moldova Cazacu-Stratu, Angela; Varga, Nane-Katharina; Cociu, Svetlana; Dulf, Diana; Peek-Asa, Corinne ABSTRACT Objective: The Republic of Moldova has one of the European region’s highest road traffic injury rates and also has an increase in motorization and exposure of children as vehicle passengers. This study describes child restraint use, and parents’ knowledge and attitudes toward child restraint based on observations in Chisinau, the country’s capital and largest city. The study aims to describe the use of child restraints and to compare data with existing standards of good practice. Methods: An observational study on child safety restraint use was conducted in 2018. Observational sites included 22 early education institutions, where drivers (n¼611) and child passengers (n¼710) were observed. Observations were conducted as motor vehicles parked or pulled to a stop near the early education institutions and included a driver survey on knowledge and attitudes toward restraint legislation and child safety behavior. Results: Of the 710 child passengers observed, 462 (65.1%) were appropriately restrained, 145 (20.4%) were seated in restraints inappropriate for the child and 103 (14.5%) of children were unrestrained. Younger children (0-3 year-old) were 7 times more likely to be properly restrained compared with children with ages between 4 and 6 (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.15 to 3.22). Two-thirds out of 609 observed drivers with full study data, N¼431 (70,8%), knew about the mandatory legislation on using child safety restraints in the Republic of Moldova. The drivers using child safety restraints responded that they used them because of their safety features, and the major reason for nonuse was high price/affordability. Conclusion: This study, the first to document child safety restraint use among children, indicates that much progress has been made, in that the majority of children are restrained and most drivers of children are aware of safety policies. However, progress can be made to increase knowledge and motivation to safely transport children, and to ensure safety seats are affordable and available. These data will be an important foundation on which to advocate for increased safety activities, child restraint policies, educational approaches in Moldova and to monitor progress over time. 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.usmf.md:80/xmlui/handle/20.500.12710/23600 The mortality assessment of the main non-comunicable diseases among population of the Republic of Moldova Palanciuc, Mihail; Bagrinovschi, Aurelia Introduction. The study of population mortality is constantly relevant, growing especially at the beginning of the 21 st century, because it shows us the health status of the population. The actuality of this research is also manifested by the fact that the demographic phenomenon in the aspect of the natural movement are directly related to the level of the indicator presented in the study, showing the importance of the fact that the mortality represents a demographic issue with implications in the growing process of the population and in the age structure population, in achieving a balance in population structure by age groups and is used to measure the health of the population; allows the identification of objectives in health problems; serves for the sanitary resource planning process; allows the evaluation of the effectiveness of the sanitary services system activity. Mortality is strongly dependent on socio-economic development, those leading to lower indicators, longevity and quality of life. The aim of the study was to analyze the population mortality after the main causes of death and to make further recommendations. Methods. The statistical data of the National Bureau of Statistics and the National Agency for Public Health served as primary data for this research. Data were analysed retrospectively though classical research methods during a period of 10 years (2006 - 2017), using the software Microsoft Excel. Results. Analysis of the general mortality of the population over the study period shows an oscillatory decrease from 1203.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2006 with a small increase in 2010 (1224.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) and a further decrease to 1035.98 respectively in 2017. The same situation is happening in the Chisinau and Balti municipalities, where the mentioned indicator has been decreasing since 2006 from 817.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and 1035.9 respectively in Chisinau and Balti and registering in Chisinau 740.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and Balti 871.9 in 2017 respectively. Notwithstanding this decrease, it is worrying that overall mortality as well as those caused by priority non-communicable diseases in the country is much higher than the EU average. The mortality analysis of the main causes of death revealed that the mortality rate due to the diseases of the circulatory system, during the estimated period, remained on the first place, recording in 2017 - 406.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, malignant tumors (159.14 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) are on the second place, followed by digestive diseases (56.61 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) and on the fourth place trauma and poisoning 39.85 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Conclusion. The evolution of both general and specific mortality registered a slow increase in 2010 with 1.02 as compared to 2006 followed by a decrease in 2017, but much higher than the EU average. The mortality rate caused by oncological diseases is increasing. 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.usmf.md:80/xmlui/handle/20.500.12710/23599 The attitude of young people towards the risk and motivation of the of seat belt use Vacula, Ion; Cociu, Svetlana; Cazacu-Stratu, Angela Introduction. Road accidents are one of the main causes of the public health sector problems and death cause among young people aged between 18 and 24 years old. Traffic accidents kill 1.2 million people every year and injury or disability more than 50 million people. They are the second leading cause of death globally among young people aged 5 to 29 years. Safety devices are very important in our everyday life. Many accidents happen every single day and proper use of safety restraints have saved many lives. It is important to recognize the importance of wearing one and the necessity of proper use of seat belts. Material and methods. The present research is an observational study on the attitude towards the use of seat belt among the young people in Chisinau municipality, in the period of September - November 2018. The goal of the study was to assess the attitude of young people towards the risk and motivation on the seat belt use. It was applied a questionnaire of 28 questions to 262 young students at Nicolae Testemitanu SUMPh aged between 18 to 29 years old. Results. The analysed data show that 45% of students do not have a driving license, and 55% have a driving license category B. More than 1/3 of students who have a driving license when they drive a car always wear a seat belt (81,3%), in most of the cases - 7,3%, seldom - 4,2% and never - 7,2% of cases. During the last 30 days, at least once 1,2% of students driven a car under the influence of alcohol, 0,38% - 6 times. It is worth mentioning that 1/2 of interviewed students din not drive a car or other vehicle after they had consumed alcohol. From the total number of interviewed students 17,7% were subject to penalties for breaching the traffic rules, the majority of violations being related to: high speed (60,8%), prohibited parking (19,6%), not wearing a seat belt - 19,6%. TV/radio shows (50%), online social networks (42%), educational programmes (7%) and newspaper/magazines (1%) are the main information sources mentioned by the respondents. Conclusion. Though the majority of young people realise the benefits of a wearing a seat belt regardless of the place one is sitting in car and they use it when driving a car, nonetheless the seat belt is not used at 100%. It is necessary to strengthen the joint efforts in increasing the use of seat belt by disseminating the information on the passengers’ safety in a car. The behaviour of each individual towards personal safety depends on his own attitude, the knowledge acquired and their application when using a car. 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.usmf.md:80/xmlui/handle/20.500.12710/23598 Road injuries particularities in the Chisinau municipality Cociu, S.; Cebanu, S. Introduction. Injuries caused by road accidents are a major public health problem. Every year, around 1.3 million people die in road accidents, and up to 50 million people are traumatized with serious health consequences. In the Republic of Moldova, the mortality rate through injuries occupies the fourth place after the maincauses of death and road accidents - the II place trough main types of injury and poisoning. This is a strong argument to study the character and structure of road injuries of the population in the Chisinau municipality and develop recommendations to improve local safety policies. Material and methods. The study included data collection from the official statistical reports o f the Chisinau Police Department for 2015-2017, processing and description of the indicators obtained through secondary data collection. Results. Data analysis of road traffic police records highlighted several aspects. There is an increase in the total number of car crashes (+18.52%) from 2015 to 2017, as well as in the total number of injured traffic participants (+10.95%). The mortality rate, as analysed from the police records in the studied period is increasing by 17.54%. Most of the road accidents occurred in the Botanica district, with 326 accidents (35, 8%) and 365 people (29,4%) with different injuries. According to the months o f the year, the days of the week and time, data revealed: October, Friday, most accidents occurred between 12am and 20pm, and most deaths registered between 18pm and 6am. The most common cause of accidents was not granting priority to other vehicles, registering 289 road accidents (20, 1%) in 2017 less than in 2016 while registering 335 road accidents. As a second cause: being not granting priority to pedestrians, registering 266 (19, 25%) road accidents in 2017 and 244 road accidents in 2016. Conclusion. The dynamics of road accidents during the studied period revealed a slight tendency o f increase in the total number of deaths trough road accidents and injured persons as a result of road accidents. There is a strong need for developing further prevention actions for decreasing the number of road injury and to strengthen the multidisciplinary efforts o f all actors in different competent bodies and structures. 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z