Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation of Educational Interventions in Promoting Safe Traffic Behaviors of Pedestrians in Zone Two of Tabriz Municipality

Abstract

Introduction: Every year, more than 270,000 pedestrians worldwide lose their lives in traffic accidents, which cause irreparable psychological and economic effects for the family as well as for the society. Implementation of intervention programs to improve pedestrian safety and then evaluating the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prioritize effective interventions is of particular importance. Therefore, the present study was carried out with the aim of evaluating the cost-effectiveness of educational interventions in promoting safe traffic behaviors of pedestrians in Tabriz. Methods: The current research is a descriptive-analytical economic evaluation study that was conducted in the two cities of Tabriz. The sample size was estimated to be 540 people taking into account the coefficient of effect of the plan, which was referred to health centers, schools, and taxi companies for data collection. The questionnaire was designed based on the four levels of Kirkpatrick's model and was used after confirming the validity and reliability. By using spss software, the obtained data was analyzed and finally, through incremental cost-effectiveness evaluation, the amount of costs spent against the effectiveness of interventions to improve pedestrian safety was obtained.Results: In the first step of the study, educational interventions were identified to increase awareness and public understanding of pedestrians, then in the second step, the cost details of the strategies were examined and calculated using the Micro-Costing method and with a bottom-up approach. The third study was to estimate the effectiveness of educational programs through Kirkpatrick's model in a questionnaire, in which the participants were asked to answer the relevant questions in each of the four levels of the model, which included the level of reaction, learning, behavior and results, and finally, the fourth step The study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of educational interventions and the amount of additional cost per unit of increase in the effectiveness of the compared educational programs was obtained. conclusion: The expenses spent in order to improve the safety of pedestrians not only did not cause a waste of resources, but it is considered as a kind of long-term investment in this field, which by carrying out appropriate interventions and determining their cost-effectiveness, policy makers can be directed to Future decision-making in the field of safety and traffic helped.