How the Covid-19 pandemic has drawn attention to the issue of active mobility and co-benefits in Latin American cities.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the fore many issues that will impact public health for years to come -one such impact is on the nexus between transportation and health. Promoting safe, active transport is an activity that has many physical and mental health benefits. During lockdowns, many cities in Latin America imposed infrastructural and legislative changes in order to abide with public health and social mea-sures to reduce virus spread. These ranged from additional bike lanes to reduced speed limits or incentives to purchase bicycles. These cities showed reduced motorized transport, improved air quality and increased active transport, all of which have multiple health and equity benefits. As countries "build back better", promoting active transport offers the most value for investment and improves health and well-being while continuing to offer social distancing. Quantified case studies are needed to have a more comprehensive under-standing of the impact of active transport in various contexts.

Impact of COVID-19 and containment measures on burn care: A qualitative exploratory study.

BACKGROUND: Burn care in India is limited by multiple constraints. The COVID-19 pandemic and the containment measures restricted access to non-COVID emergency conditions, including burns. The aim of this study was to explore the impact of the pandemic on burn care in India. METHODS: Using the qualitative exploratory methods, we conducted in-depth interviews (IDI) with plastic and general surgeons representing burn units from across India. Participants were selected purposively to ensure representation and diversity and the sample size was guided by thematic saturation. Thematic analysis was undertaken adopting an inductive coding using NVivo 12 Pro. RESULTS: 19 participants from diverse geographic locations and provider types were interviewed. Three major emerging themes were, change in patient and burn injury characteristics; health system barriers, adaptation, and challenges; and lessons and emerging recommendations for policy and practice. There was change in patient load, risk factors, and distribution of burns. The emergency services were intermittently disrupted, the routine and surgical services were rationally curtailed, follow-up and rehabilitation services were most affected. Measures like telemedicine and decentralising burn services emerged as the most important lesson. CONCLUSIONS: The ongoing pandemic has compounded the challenges for burns care in India. Urgent action is required to prioritise targeted prevention, emergency transport, decentralise service delivery, and harnessing technology for ensuring resilience in burns services.

Media coverage and framing of road traffic safety in India.

BACKGROUND: Media coverage of road traffic collisions (RTCs) may influence preventative action. India experiences some of the highest RTC mortality and morbidity rates globally, but advocacy and effective action to mitigate this has been limited. We conducted an analysis of Indian media in English to assess whether coverage met the WHO's Reporting on Road Safety guidelines for evidence-based reporting of RTCs. METHODS: English-language articles published online between March 2018 and February 2019 were assessed against the seven recommended story angles and seven recommended key elements in the WHO guidelines. RESULTS: 458 articles were included in the analysis. The most common story angle was descriptions of single collisions, which was not a WHO-recommended story angle. These included limited key elements such as use of human story or linking to road safety risks or evidence-based solutions. However, some articles did follow the WHO-recommended story angles, with 22.1% discussing specific road safety solutions and a further 6.3% discussing vulnerable groups. Almost all articles avoided the use of technical language, but only 2.0% explicitly stated that RTCs were preventable. More than half identified at least one evidence-based solution. Very few articles discussed economic or health impacts of RTCs, including the burden they present to the public health system. CONCLUSION: Indian media in English can improve reporting by focusing on human stories and documenting experiences of those injured in RTCs. Coverage should also focus more on evidence-based solutions, emphasising the systems approach which encourages government action rather than changes to individual behaviour.