Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the socio-demographic profile of fatalities due to road traffic injuries (RTI) among residents of the Municipality of Lanús (Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina) between 1998 and 2004. A descriptive epidemiological study was carried out using official mortality data from Argentina. RTI deaths were coded by ICD-10 according to residence and occurrence. Socioeconomic and demographic variables were analyzed using univariate and bivariate analysis, calculation of proportional mortality (PM), proportional mortality ratio (PMR) and georeferencing by residence and occurrence. Lanús presents an RTI mortality profile similar to those of developed countries. The combination of techniques emerges as an interesting alternative for working with secondary data, in small areas and with small numbers. This research provides suggestions for interventions in RTI-related issues at the individual and local levels. The text emphasizes the need for transdisciplinary studies that could approach the problem with other methodological lenses.