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Background: Pre-hospital emergency technicians are crucial in managing patients with acute psychiatric symptoms. They must quickly assess the condition, make a primary diagnosis, and refer the patient to the appropriate treatment center. Insufficient skills in these situations can cause serious harm. Educating technicians on dealing with these patients may enhance their knowledge and skills; however, we do not know the extent and longevity of this improvement and which areas are affected. This study investigates the impact of training on pre-hospital emergency technicians' knowledge and skills., Methods: This quasi-experimental study involved pre-hospital emergency technicians in Robat Karim and Nasim Shahr counties from December 2022 to January 2022. The technicians received workshops on interacting with psychiatric patients. The training topics included the basic principles of coping with a psychiatric patient. They also covered a step-by-step approach to dealing with an aggressive patient, dealing with a patient threatening suicide, managing agitation, managing a patient suffering from panic attacks, and finally dealing with a delirious patient. A pre-test assessed their baseline knowledge and skills, followed by a post-test after training and another test three months later. The test results were analyzed., Results: This study involved forty male participants ranging in age from 25 to 44 and with work experience ranging from five to twenty years. As a result of training in dealing with acute psychiatric patients, technicians developed significant skills and knowledge immediately after training, and these improvements remained significant three months after training. Nevertheless, the correct answers decreased during the three-month follow-up compared to the pre-test. Education was less effective at managing panic, delirium, and agitation., Conclusion: In conclusion, technicians' knowledge and skills can be effectively enhanced through training; however, the impact diminishes with time. Theories and practical methods, periodic repetition, and real-world internships are the best ways to maximize training effectiveness., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Incidence of road traffic collisions (RTCs), types of users involved, and healthcare requirement afterwards are essential information for efficient policy making. We analysed individual-level data from nationally representative surveys conducted in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs) between 2008-2019. We describe the weighted incidence of non-fatal RTC in the past 12 months, type of road user involved, and incidence of traffic injuries requiring medical attention. Multivariable logistic regressions were done to evaluate associated sociodemographic and economic characteristics, and alcohol use. Data were included from 90,790 individuals from 15 countries or territories. The non-fatal RTC incidence in participants aged 24-65 years was 5.2% (95% CI: 4.6-5.9), with significant differences dependent on country income status. Drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists composed 37.2%, 40.3%, 11.3% and 11.2% of RTCs, respectively. The distribution of road user type varied with country income status, with divers increasing and cyclists decreasing with increasing country income status. Type of road users involved in RTCs also varied by the age and sex of the person involved, with a greater proportion of males than females involved as drivers, and a reverse pattern for pedestrians. In multivariable analysis, RTC incidence was associated with younger age, male sex, being single, and having achieved higher levels of education; there was no association with alcohol use. In a sensitivity analysis including respondents aged 18-64 years, results were similar, however, there was an association of RTC incidence with alcohol use. The incidence of injuries requiring medical attention was 1.8% (1.6-2.1). In multivariable analyses, requiring medical attention was associated with younger age, male sex, and higher wealth quintile. We found remarkable heterogeneity in RTC incidence, the type of road users involved, and the requirement for medical attention after injuries depending on country income status and socio-demographic characteristics. Targeted data-informed approaches are needed to prevent and manage RTCs., Competing Interests: I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: LAW is employed by WHO; the material included in this article reflects the views of individuals and not necessarily the views of WHO. DGP provides scientific consultations through Epidemiologic Research & Methods, LLC (ERM); none of her consulting through ERM is related to the topic of the current study. Other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright: © 2024 Ghalichi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)