Abstract

The central objective of the Road Traffic Injury Research Network (RTIRN) is to support the development and strengthening of research agendas and research capacity on road traffic injury in low- and middle-income countries. Specifically, the network advocates for research to reduce the burden of road traffic injuries in low- and middle-income countries; develops capacity for road traffic injury research in low- and middle-income countries; promotes investments for road traffic injury prevention; facilitates communication between partners involved in road traffic injury research; conducts strategic road safety research, and promotes the application and utilization of research for policy and intervention development in order to reduce the burden of road traffic injury in low- and middle-income countries.

The RTIRN has worked mainly in Africa, Latin America, and Asia to build capacity through training and mentoring, and the funding of strategic research in a number of countries. Through linkages facilitated by RTIRN, partners from both low- and high-income countries were able to successfully build research capacity with limited resources.

The Network plans to use various platforms to engage its membership in discussions that highlight research gaps for the road safety field, in order to identify what research is critical where. We intend to interrogate the role of Implementation Research in the face of increasing pressure for Low- and Middle-Income Countries to meet global targets, and adopt recommended road safety interventions, many of them developed in HICs. We invite new and existing partners to join the discussions on www.rtirn.net.