Physician's Role in Seatbelt Safety

Physicians can play an important role in reducing the number of crash-related injuries and deaths by advising patients to buckle up, according to a recent UAB study published the Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection and Critical Care.

"Doctors routinely educate patients about the benefits of healthy living but don't usually encourage them to use seatbelts," says Gerald McGwin, Ph.D., assistant professor with the departments of epidemiology and surgery at UAB.

The study found that following a crash-related injury the percentage of patients who reported always wearing a seatbelt jumped from 54 to 85 percent. "Physicians may be in the best position to identify these individuals before they are involved in a crash."

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