ABSTRACT
Road traffic accidents claim over a million lives every year in the world. As per World Health Organization (WHO) it is one of the leading cause of death. India, being a rapidly developing country with expanding economy has its own issues as regarding road traffic accidents due to rapid proliferation of motorization. Road traffic accidents causes enormous morbidity and mortality and at the same time, the toll on the economy of the country as a result of it is quite heavy. Road traffic accident is a result of an interaction among different factors which include the environ-ment, vehicle and the human being. Traditionally it is considered that road traffic accidents are accidents which are unpredictable, inevitable and not preventable. But road traffic accidents are indeed predictable and preventable in majority of the cases. This require the knowledge of factors contributing and leading to road traffic accidents. There are certain preventive measures which if adopted can lead to decrease in morbidity and mortality resulting from RTA. Hence, it is the responsibility of all to contribute in reducing road traffic accidents.
ABSTRACT
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states and events in populations, and its application to the control of health problems. An epidemiological studies involve the population and as such ethical issues are an important aspect of it which need to be properly understood and adhered to. These issues can relate to informed consent, appropriate sample size, selection of participants, confidentiality, conflict of interest etc. Studies like therapeutic trial have also a lot of ethical issues which differ from issues pertaining to non-therapeutic trials. The source of funding for the study can have implication. Fabrication of data, manipulation during analysis, intentional changes in the result to obtain a pre desired outcome are some grey areas which need to be addressed. Another ethical issue is publication in certain Journals with monetary involvement. Lastly but not the least, author-ship also have certain ethical issues. Attention to ethical issues can facilitate the effective planning, implementation, and growth of a variety of public health programs and research activities. Moreover with advancement in Epidemiol-ogylikemolecularepidemiology,geneticepidemiologyetc.theethicalissuesbecomemorecomplicated