Direct Costs for the Management of Road Traffic Accident Casualties in Six Hospitals. Case of Mbandaka City in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Introduction: Road traffic accidents are a real public health issue worldwide.Every second, a case is reported.The cost incurred by this phenomenon is just the tip of the iceberg.Many victims are unable to cope with the direct costs due to a lack of social protection systems, especially in low-and middle-income countries.The objective of our study is to evaluate the direct costs of care for victims of road accidents in Mbandaka.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on road traffic accident victims in Mbandaka from 01/01/2023 to 30/06/2024.Our sample consists of 302 victims.A form and an unstructured interview served as our data collection tools, and the data was collected on Excel and then analyzed using SPSS 23.Results: The prevalence of road traffic accidents is 0.71% with a lethality of 12.3%.The average age was 29.2 years (16.9).The male sex was predominantly represented.In 95.4% of cases, patients were not referred, and only 1% of patients used a medical transport to reach the hospital.Fractures (75.5%) were the most common injuries with a high proportion, and the lower limbs were more affected (76.3%).In 91.4%, patients resorted to direct payment, and the length of stay would be 12 days