Literature study on data quality improvement

Data is regarded as significant information in RTA, and has huge impact on the possibility of reducing the critical rise in the RTA. Stats SA (2009) emphasised on the effect of data limitations towards obtaining the right result in terms of death records, such as incompleteness of background information on the deceased, inadequate specification of cause of death, and under-and-late registration of deaths (Stats SA 2009). Definitely, all these aforementioned limitations contributed to the poor data quality (Stats SA 2009).

However, many research works have been carried out on the improvement of road accident data quality several decades back. Some of these researches were based on the purpose of, firstly, making comparison of different data sources in order to establish a unified data source to stimulate consistency and completion of data (Agran & Dunkle 1984; Agran et al. 1990; Diana & Knuiman 1994; Rosman 2001); and secondly, others concentrate on how to improve the process involved in producing a reliable data to the public [data users], by identifying limitations affecting the dissemination of quality data to the public by the data producer [RTMC] (Shinar et al. 1983; Zegeer 1987; Agran et al. 1990; O’ Day 1993; Ferrante et al. 1993; Marshall & Rossman 1994; Kevin Austin 1995; Johnson 1999; Jacobs & Aeron-Thomas 2000; Baguley 2001; Wang 2004; Engineering Advice and Services 2005; Njord et al. 2005; McDonald et al. 2009; Jeffrey et al. 2009; Asia Injury Prevention Foundation et al. 2010b; Sinclair 2011; Wang & Strong 2013).

Furthermore, some of these research works based their facts on the inability of the police officers or traffic officers to provide full details of an accident event. Few out of these articles further clarified that imprecisions such as omission or loss of relevant data fields has rendered most information or data provided in the ARF incomplete, while few others provide insights into procedures required to develop a practicable process suitable for acquiring quality data, by assuring a complete road accident data for public use. One of the benefits of the complete and accurate road accident data is to promote safety initiatives in the road transportation system. The accuracy of road accident data or information regarding the injuries and their causes is

essential to road safety researchers, policy development and evaluation planning (Rosman 2001; Joseph 2013).

Lack of sufficient data has contributed immensely to the inability of devising a sustainable, systematic approach to tackle road accident occurrence. For instance; the increase in the RTA in the African Region, is considered as the inability of African nations to engage in the activities of devising a common way of sustaining and improving the existing process developed for road accident data gathering. And also, the sloppy handling of data in ensuring supply of accurate information is a prime factor to this effect (WHO African Region 2013; Joseph 2013; WHO 2013).

Diana L. Rosman (2001) emphatically estimated the rate of underreporting of accidents for different road user groups in Western Australia, where a road accident data comparison was performed between the hospital records and the police records. It was discovered that police way of keeping accident record is marred with much irregularities (Agran & Dunkle 1984; Zegeer 1987; Agran et al. 1990; O’ Day 1993; Rosman & Knuiman 1994; K Austin 1995). As illustrated in the research article, the degree of reportage of injury severity by the police was indicated as less reliable type of accident record among others. A research work illustrated that both the police and hospital records are more adequate for the details acquisition as regards the drivers than the pedestrians (Rosman & Knuiman 1994).

In this context, the research is partly related to the investigation to be performed at the STD. The only observable difference is that the researchers established disparity between the police road traffic casualty reports and hospital accident reports, by ascertaining which among the two prominent data collectors is diligent in quality record keeping. Actually, the method used was based on the application of the probabilistic techniques to identify if there is any similarity establish between factors such as, injury type, severity and treatment, according to records obtained from both the police’s and hospital’s casualties records (Rosman 2001).

Generally, road accident data collected by the police are basically connected to three major areas which are accidents involving casualties, heavy traffic flow, vehicle hijacking, and use of influential substances such as alcohol, drugs etc. A statement made by Diana L. Rosman (2001) revealed that “police attend accident scenes if there are casualties or suspicion of alcohol involvement or if traffic flow is impeded” (Rosman 2001). However, during the research process, limitations to the linkage between the police and hospital reports were accentuated as lack of completeness, lack of accuracy, and lack of consistency. These three basic factors were discussed as the part of the components that constitute a quality data in subsection 2.5.4 above.

Furthermore, Diana L. Rosman (2001) made it clear that a major reason for art of matching traffic accident records is basically to deduce or minimize the existence of errors in both

sources. This could be achieved by determining the gravity and thresholds of the errors committed, in order to clarify the differences and limitations in the comparison between the two data sources. Regarding this approach used by Diana L. Rosman in 2001, there are only a few details in the hospital records that could be linked to the police accident records. The details identified as linkage factors are road users [accident victims], accident locations, vehicles involved, genders, and number of people killed [casualties], and the circumstances of the road accidents which is also part of the records.

However, a report made available by Buffalo City Municipality (2005), regarding the reformation of the unproductive procedures implemented in processing the road accident data, offers the basic steps that are applicable in reforming the procedural systems designed for road traffic assessment. These steps are particularly considered in the eradication of the excessive accumulation of irregularities along the process. And also, the report illustrated the method considered in identifying factors that contribute to the rise or accumulation of irregularities. This method was implemented to evaluate the primary data sourcing phase with other subordinate data sourcing phases. The method used could be beneficial to the similar investigation to be carried out at the STD.

The method recommended a clinical way of cleansing the existing data through various initiatives, and setting new protocols to ascertain the appropriate capturing process for data collected (BCM 2005). However, two researchers, Ehnes & Niu (2012) specified in a published report, how reporting system and data collection system can be improved, alongside a standard procedural method for data evaluation and analysis. In this report, further emphasises are directed towards the basic principles of active reportage, data collection and evaluation procedures.

Emphatically, the method reveals the predominance level of some factors in the improvement of data processing system. Factors considered are the consultation of the stakeholders, design of reportage system, administrative and departmental structure, periodic maintenance and adjustment of the national database to accommodate more relevant data (Ehnes & Niu 2012). More so, this particular method, addresses areas such as regularisation of tools for data reporting, assessing the system used in data reporting and collection, and developing a reliable analysis platform for accident reported and data collected for appropriate evaluation process (Ehnes & Niu 2012).

In addition, a group of research institutes carried out similar method on how to strengthen the possibility of acquiring a reliable data processing system concerning RTA. The group illustrated the significance of reliable data and the assessment of the road safety data in a specific region (Asia Injury Prevention Foundation et al. 2010b). Moreover, the group dissected the key steps that are relevant towards the application of RTI to strengthening the existing road accident data

systems, or the design and implementation of new ones (Asia Injury Prevention Foundation et al. 2010b). Thereafter, a valuable improvement approach towards the data processing system was discussed by the group. This particular approach was based on the quality level of data collected by the police through a set of evaluation processes, in order to check the reliability of the data and system performance. The approach consist of areas such as in-depth evaluation of existing systems, data collection tools, reporting requirements, training, and quality assurance (Asia Injury Prevention Foundation et al. 2010b).

A feasibility study was carried out on approachable methods that were implemented formerly by experts in this particular field. These methods were studied to aid the investigation carried out at the STD. The study will guide the evaluation of the degree of quality data collected by the local authorities as the primary data collectors. In this case, the completed ARFs [data forms] will be evaluated, with the purpose of determining the practicality of the data elements [variables] completed in the data forms to the real-world problems. In the course of executing this, the perception of the reporting officers on the application of the ARF will be ascertained through assessment procedures to satisfy the research questions in this study.