Iranian Designated Safe Communities: A Quantitative Analysis

The safe community initiative was developed by the World Health Organization following the increasing trend in the frequency of injuries. Similar to most countries, it was implemented in Iran to improve community safety. The aim of this study was to quantitatively analyze the Iranian designated safe communities.

Using a descriptive design, this study analyzed the reports by Iranian designated safe communities (n, 33) in 2016. Data were extracted from the website of WHO collaborating centre on community safety promotion in Sweden, using an objective-based questionnaire. Microsoft Access 2010 was used for data management, and SPSS version 21 was utilized for data analysis.

The Iranian designated safe communities were all located in 3 out of 31 provinces of Iran, namely Tehran, Fars, and Khorasan Razavi. All the safe communities had covered traffic safety. In total, 69.7% of the safe communities reported the incorporation of occupational and sport safety activities, as well as violence and suicide prevention interventions. No significant difference was found among provinces in the frequency distribution of improved safety issues (P > 0.05). Moreover, 26 (78.8%) communities reported having an injury surveillance system.

Iranian safe communities used a set of strategies to improve community safety. Accordingly, the neglected areas must be acknowledged by other interested communities. Moreover, rigorous scientific studies are required to assess the effectiveness of interventions.