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  • Imatge representativa de la publicació

    Principles of risk management for prevention

    Francisco Alonso, Mireia Faus, Sergio Useche, Cristina Esteban

    (2023). Llibre

    Psychology and Risk Prevention: Current Research.

    Although it may sound exaggerated at first, almost all the activities we perform, both on a daily and exceptional basis, have a series of associated risks. Some of them are more serious, common and obvious, while others materialize less frequently. Nevertheless, and often without being fully aware of it, we use risk management tools and strategies on a daily basis to prevent risks from having a negative impact on our well-being. Driving a car and stepping on the brakes is in itself an action to mitigate the risk of an accident. Likewise, given that the management of all risks is not always so simple and every day, some risks require more complex management, and even interventions can be...

    Although it may sound exaggerated at first, almost all the activities we perform, both on a daily and exceptional basis, have a series of associated risks. Some of them are more serious, common and obvious, while others materialize less frequently. Nevertheless, and often without being fully aware of it, we use risk management tools and strategies on a daily basis to prevent risks from having a negative impact on our well-being. Driving a car and stepping on the brakes is in itself an action to mitigate the risk of an accident. Likewise, given that the management of all risks is not always so simple and every day, some risks require more complex management, and even interventions can be either prevented or their consequences minimized when it is difficult for us to avoid their impact. In this chapter, we will describe some of the most important risk management concepts, sources, interventions and strategies, seeking to generate an integrating vision that will allow us to better understand this complex facet of behavior and safety in general.

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    DOI: 10.52305/RQEE8626
    ISBN: 979-8-89113-007-4
  • Imatge representativa de la publicació

    Who wants to change their transport habits to help reduce air pollution? A nationwide study in the caribbean

    Francisco Alonso, Mireia Faus, Cristina Esteban, Sergio Useche

    (2023). Article

    Journal of Transport & Health. Num.33:101703

    Given its detrimental role in sustainability and community health, air pollution constitutes a global challenge nowadays, and urban transport has been proven to be a key contributor to the problem. At a population level, and especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), measures for reducing contamination usually require deep behavioral changes and “sacrifices” among individuals who may (or may not) be willing to modify their habits. Objective: This research, conducted in the Dominican Republic, aimed to assess the effect of individual factors, transport habits, and pollution-related concerns on the individual’s will to act to reduce air pollution. Methods: For this study, we...

    Given its detrimental role in sustainability and community health, air pollution constitutes a global challenge nowadays, and urban transport has been proven to be a key contributor to the problem. At a population level, and especially in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), measures for reducing contamination usually require deep behavioral changes and “sacrifices” among individuals who may (or may not) be willing to modify their habits. Objective: This research, conducted in the Dominican Republic, aimed to assess the effect of individual factors, transport habits, and pollution-related concerns on the individual’s will to act to reduce air pollution. Methods: For this study, we counted on the participation of a nationwide sample of 1250 adult Dominican citizens (50% females; 50% males) with a mean age of 36.7 years. Results: Overall, Dominicans tend to self-report a considerably high concern about transport air pollution, especially among women and inhabitants of urban areas. The willingness to act was significantly influenced by demographic factors, travel frequency, and pollution-related concerns. Also, both individual and socially perceived environmental concerns exert a statistical mediation between individual factors and the self-reported predisposition to help reduce pollution through behavioral changes. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that both individual and social pollution-related concerns influence the personal willingness to act against air pollution, although in different ways. Interestingly, while peoples’ own concerns increase their willingness to act, solely perceiving a greater collective concern seems to dispirit individuals’ will to take further action. Accordingly, developing further individual and collective initiatives to increase pollution-related responsiveness could be essential to face this growing problem in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean.

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    DOI: 10.1016/j.jth.2023.101703
    ISSN: 2214-1405
  • Imatge representativa de la publicació

    Different ways… same message? Road safety-targeted communication strategies in Spain throughout 61 years (1960-2021)

    Mireia Faus, Cesáreo Fernández, Francisco Alonso, Sergio Useche

    (2023). Article

    Heliyon. Num.9(8)

    Among the most generalised preventive measures against traffic crashes, advertisements and broadcast campaigns in the media have stood out over the last six decades. The core aim of this paper is to describe the evolution of the subject matter and typology of road safety-related advertisements used in Spain during 62 years (1960–2021). Thus, this paper assesses their role in reducing road fatalities, while keeping in mind the potential effect of the many other road safety-related preventive measures carried out in the country during this period. The results of this study allow us to target five key time periods, all of them with clear particular communication strategies to be...

    Among the most generalised preventive measures against traffic crashes, advertisements and broadcast campaigns in the media have stood out over the last six decades. The core aim of this paper is to describe the evolution of the subject matter and typology of road safety-related advertisements used in Spain during 62 years (1960–2021). Thus, this paper assesses their role in reducing road fatalities, while keeping in mind the potential effect of the many other road safety-related preventive measures carried out in the country during this period. The results of this study allow us to target five key time periods, all of them with clear particular communication strategies to be differentiated, using specific types of advertisements and informative, persuasive, emotional, and humorous techniques (among others) to reach the audience. Additionally, some key practical implications and guidelines are provided.

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    DOI: 10.17583/ijep.8805
    ISSN: 2405-8440
  • Imatge representativa de la publicació

    Effectiveness of driving simulators for drivers’ training: A systematic review

    Francisco Alonso, Mireia Faus, José V. Riera, Marcos Fernandez-Marin, Sergio A. Useche

    (2023). Article

    Applied Sciences. Num.13(9):5266

    Although driving simulators could be commonly assumed as very useful technological resources for both novel and experienced drivers’ instruction under risk control settings, the evidence addressing their actual effectiveness seems substantially limited. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the existing original literature on driving simulators as a tool for driver training/instruction, considering study features, their quality, and the established degree of effectiveness of simulators for these purposes. Methods: This study covered a final number of 17 empirical studies, filtered and analyzed in the light of the PRISMA methodology for systematic reviews of the literature. Results: Among a...

    Although driving simulators could be commonly assumed as very useful technological resources for both novel and experienced drivers’ instruction under risk control settings, the evidence addressing their actual effectiveness seems substantially limited. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the existing original literature on driving simulators as a tool for driver training/instruction, considering study features, their quality, and the established degree of effectiveness of simulators for these purposes. Methods: This study covered a final number of 17 empirical studies, filtered and analyzed in the light of the PRISMA methodology for systematic reviews of the literature. Results: Among a considerably reduced set of original research studies assessing the effectiveness of driving simulators for training purposes, most sources assessing the issue provided reasonably good insights into their value for improving human-based road safety under risk control settings. On the other hand, there are common limitations which stand out, such as the use of very limited research samples, infrequent follow-up of the training outcomes, and reduced information about the limitations targeted during the simulator-based training processes. Conclusions: Despite the key shortcomings highlighted here, studies have commonly provided empirical support on the training value of simulators, as well as endorsed the need for further evaluations of their effectiveness. The data provided by the studies included in this systematic review and those to be carried out in the coming years might provide data of interest for the development and performance improvement of specific training programs using simulators for driver instruction.

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    DOI: 10.3390/app13095266
    ISSN: 2076-3417
  • Imatge representativa de la publicació

    Far from reality, or somehow accurate? Social beliefs and perceptions about traffic crashes in the Dominican Republic

    Francisco Alonso, Mireia Faus, Sergio Useche

    (2023). Article

    PLoS ONE. Num.14(18):e0282601

    Background Despite the considerable effort made during the last decades, emerging countries are still among the highest road safety concerns because they still account for most of the deaths caused by traffic crashes. Various studies suggest that one of the factors involved in this negative outcome could be road safety. However, this issue remains pending to be addressed in most emerging countries, including the Dominican Republic. Aim This study aimed to assess the beliefs and perceptions of Dominicans regarding some key road risky-related issues and to discuss them in the light of objective data. Methods For this cross-sectional study, the responses by a full sample of 1,260...

    Background Despite the considerable effort made during the last decades, emerging countries are still among the highest road safety concerns because they still account for most of the deaths caused by traffic crashes. Various studies suggest that one of the factors involved in this negative outcome could be road safety. However, this issue remains pending to be addressed in most emerging countries, including the Dominican Republic. Aim This study aimed to assess the beliefs and perceptions of Dominicans regarding some key road risky-related issues and to discuss them in the light of objective data. Methods For this cross-sectional study, the responses by a full sample of 1,260 Dominicans (50.1% men, 49.9% women) with a mean age of 39.4 years participating in a set of surveys conducted across the country, were used. Results Although Dominicans (especially women) seem to attribute high importance to road crashes, there is a low perceived likelihood of getting involved in a traffic crash. As for subjective versus objective data comparisons, perceived crash features and objective crash report data considerably match. However, the numbers largely differ in terms of crash frequency and importance and relevance given to road crashes, and their consequences. Further, perceptions of traffic violations and lack of law enforcement were pertinent predictors of the degree of relevance attributed to traffic crashes. Conclusions Overall, the results of this study suggest that, despite a relative awareness of their actual traffic crash features, Dominicans systematically underestimate the causes, frequency, and consequences of these crashes, including yearly fatality rates. These outcomes suggest the need to strengthen road safety awareness and beliefs in further road safety actions and policymaking in the region.

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    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282601
    ISSN: 1932-6203
  • Imatge representativa de la publicació

    Experiencias y aprendizajes de la década: Gestión de la seguridad vial

    Ana María Pinto, Claudia Díaz, Claudia Franchesca de los Santos, Christopher Persaud, Corina Puppo, Eduardo Café, Francisco Alonso, Hernán Paredes, Manuel Rodríguez, Marisela Ponce de León, Martín Sosa, Nathalie Chiavassa, Paula Cruz, Raphaël Dewez, Franco Azzato

    (2023). Llibre

    Seguridad vial en América Latina y el Caribe: tras un decenio de acción y perspectivas para una movilidad más segura.

    El primer plan del decenio ha terminado, no sin antes demostrar la importancia que revierte para el mundo el trabajo sistémico en seguridad vial en cuanto a la protección de la vida. Asimismo, se ha dejado en evidencia que no se trata de un trabajo sencillo y que la tarea no es corta; los procesos de generación de acciones, apropiación y conocimiento de una cultura de la movilidad segura toman tiempo y requieren de un gran esfuerzo por parte de todos los gobiernos del mundo. En América Latina y el Caribe (LAC), los últimos diez años mostraron que la región solamente ha logrado reducir la velocidad a la que ocurren las muertes por siniestros de tránsito, y que estas siguen siendo una...

    El primer plan del decenio ha terminado, no sin antes demostrar la importancia que revierte para el mundo el trabajo sistémico en seguridad vial en cuanto a la protección de la vida. Asimismo, se ha dejado en evidencia que no se trata de un trabajo sencillo y que la tarea no es corta; los procesos de generación de acciones, apropiación y conocimiento de una cultura de la movilidad segura toman tiempo y requieren de un gran esfuerzo por parte de todos los gobiernos del mundo. En América Latina y el Caribe (LAC), los últimos diez años mostraron que la región solamente ha logrado reducir la velocidad a la que ocurren las muertes por siniestros de tránsito, y que estas siguen siendo una tendencia creciente, principalmente por el crecimiento de la flota de motocicletas. Si bien se ha logrado concientizar, crear instituciones, planificar e implementar acciones importantes para reducir los siniestros, ALC no ha obtenido los mismos resultados que los países de altos ingresos, que han revertido la tendencia. De acuerdo con lo anterior, es posible concebir la segunda década de acción como una oportunidad para los países de ALC, una oportunidad para finalizar los procesos iniciados en estos años y de introducir experiencias exitosas y enriquecedoras de otros países de la región. Con el presente estudio el BID pretende orientar este proceso de mejora continua, resaltando las mejores prácticas y ofreciendo una visión general de cómo es posible pasar de la teoría a la práctica, siguiendo el principio de que la movilidad debe ser segura, sostenible e inclusiva, reduciendo la exposición al riesgo de todos los actores viales, especialmente los más vulnerables y manteniendo el foco en usuarios con necesidades especiales (personas con discapacidad, niños y adultos mayores).

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    DOI: 10.18235/0004843
  • Imatge representativa de la publicació

    Are adult driver education programs effective? A Systematic Review of evaluations of accident prevention training courses

    Mireia Faus, Francisco Alonso, Cristina Esteban, Sergio Useche

    (2023). Article

    International Journal of Educational Psychology. Num.12(1)

    Road safety training programs are commonly used to raise awareness of risky attitudes and behaviors. The evaluation of road safety education courses aimed at children is carried out with some assiduity. However, this does not usually occur in courses aimed at young people and adults. The present systematic review aims to identify studies that evaluate the effectiveness of road safety training programs in this population group. This systematic review followed the PRISMA methodology, by which the relevant articles based on the research term were identified. A total number of 1,336 indexed articles were filtered, and a final selection of 22 articles directly addressing the issue was obtained....

    Road safety training programs are commonly used to raise awareness of risky attitudes and behaviors. The evaluation of road safety education courses aimed at children is carried out with some assiduity. However, this does not usually occur in courses aimed at young people and adults. The present systematic review aims to identify studies that evaluate the effectiveness of road safety training programs in this population group. This systematic review followed the PRISMA methodology, by which the relevant articles based on the research term were identified. A total number of 1,336 indexed articles were filtered, and a final selection of 22 articles directly addressing the issue was obtained. Search strategies were developed and conducted in WOS, Scopus, NCBI, Google Scholar and APA databases. The selected articles indicate that the effects of road safety training programs in adults are mild to moderate. Their effectiveness is substantially increased when they are aimed at improving risk perception and decision making rather than training in driving skills. In any case, more evaluations of these courses are needed to identify which tools are effective and which should be replaced by new behavior modification methods in the design of future driver education programs.

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    DOI: 10.17583/ijep.8805
    ISSN: 2014-3591
  • Imatge representativa de la publicació

    Are social networks effective in promoting healthy behaviors? A systematic review of evaluations of public health campaigns broadcast on Twitter

    Mireia Faus, Francisco Alonso, Arash Javadinejad, Sergio Useche

    (2022). Article

    Frontiers in Public Health. Num.10:1045645

    Introduction: While public health campaigns disseminated through Twitter have multiple theoretical advantages over other strategies (e.g., a high potential reach and low economic cost), the effectiveness of social networks as facilitators of attitudinal and behavioral changes in the population seems to remain weakly supported. Therefore, this systematic review was aimed to analyze the degree of impact of healthy behavior-related campaigns as documented in scientific literature. Methods: Strictly following the PRISMA methodology, a total of 109 indexed articles were obtained, of which only 18 articles met the inclusion criteria. In addition to accessing the literature available on WOS,...

    Introduction: While public health campaigns disseminated through Twitter have multiple theoretical advantages over other strategies (e.g., a high potential reach and low economic cost), the effectiveness of social networks as facilitators of attitudinal and behavioral changes in the population seems to remain weakly supported. Therefore, this systematic review was aimed to analyze the degree of impact of healthy behavior-related campaigns as documented in scientific literature. Methods: Strictly following the PRISMA methodology, a total of 109 indexed articles were obtained, of which only 18 articles met the inclusion criteria. In addition to accessing the literature available on WOS, Scopus, BVS, Medline, Cochrane Library and PubMed, the quality of the existing studies was assessed through the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) protocol. Results: The results of this systematic review revealed a small number of evaluations of the effectiveness of social campaigns disseminated on Twitter, although the quality of these studies was considerably good. Most of the research used statistics and metrics for evaluation, with residual use of other measurement methodologies. However, their effectiveness and impact on public health-related behaviors remain arguable, in view of the existence of marked tendencies to: (i) not evaluate these campaigns; (ii) evaluate them through excessively brief, ambiguous, or potentially biased indicators; and (iii) not carry out systematic follow-ups over time. Discussion: Although there is no strong evidence of the suitability of Twitter as a suitable medium for raising public health awareness on behavioral health affairs, the actual limitations identified in this review would help to optimize this paradigm and enhance the quality, reach, and effectiveness of such communication strategies.

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    DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1045645
    ISSN: 2296-2565
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    Cross-culturally approaching the cycling behaviour questionnaire (CBQ): Evidence from 19 countries

    Sergio Useche, Francisco Alonso, Aleksey Boyko, Polina Buyvol, Isaac Castañeda, Boris Cendales, et all.

    (2022). Article

    Transportation Research Part F. Num.91:386-400

    Given different advances in applied literature, risky and positive behaviours keep gaining ground as key contributors for riding safety outcomes. In this regard, the Cycling Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ) represents one of the tools available to assess the core dimensions of cycling behaviour and their relationship with road safety outcomes from a behavioural perspective. Nevertheless, it has never been psychometrically approached through a cross-cultural perspective. Therefore, this study aimed to perform the cross-cultural validation of the CBQ, examining its psychometric properties, reliability indexes, validity insights and descriptive scores in 19 countries distributed across five...

    Given different advances in applied literature, risky and positive behaviours keep gaining ground as key contributors for riding safety outcomes. In this regard, the Cycling Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ) represents one of the tools available to assess the core dimensions of cycling behaviour and their relationship with road safety outcomes from a behavioural perspective. Nevertheless, it has never been psychometrically approached through a cross-cultural perspective. Therefore, this study aimed to perform the cross-cultural validation of the CBQ, examining its psychometric properties, reliability indexes, validity insights and descriptive scores in 19 countries distributed across five regions: Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. For this purpose, it was used the data retrieved from a full sample of 7,001 urban cyclists responding to a large-scale electronic survey. Participants had a mean age of M = 36.15 (SD = 14.71), ranging between 16 and 83 years. The results of this large-scale study empirically support the assumption that the 29-item version of the CBQ has a fair dimensional structure and item composition, good internal consistency, reliability indexes, and an interesting set of validity insights. Among these results, there can be highlighted that: (i) Structurally speaking, the questionnaire works better under a three-factor dimensionality, keeping all its 29 items, whose factor loadings are >0.400 in all cases; (ii) The CBQ shows greater reliability indexes than in previous applications using smaller samples, with good Cronbach’s alphas [0.768 - 0.915], McDonald’s omegas [0.770 - 0.913] and Composite Reliability Indexes [981 - 0.994]; and (iii) Robust tests comparing riding behaviours of riders with different levels of risk perception and crash involvement support the concurrent validity of the Cycling Behaviour Questionnaire. These outcomes endorse the usefulness of the CBQ to assess both risky and positive riding behaviours of cyclists in different countries, contributing to assess and improve cycling safety from the human factors approach.

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    DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2022.10.025
    ISSN: 1873-5517
  • Imatge representativa de la publicació

    Gestión política de la agresividad vial

    Andrea Serge, Mireia Faus, Francisco Tortosa, Francisco Alonso

    (2022). Llibre

    Supervivencia Vial: Agresividad. Num.Gabriel Dorantes Argandar (coordinador)

    La agresividad vial es un fenómeno que afecta a los conductores de todas las ciudades, sin importar ubicación geográfica o diferencias culturales. Aproximadamente uno de cada diez conductores se caracteriza por ser fuertemente agresivo. ¿Ha visto usted a algún conductor acercar su vehículo a otro de manera agresiva o no respetar la distancia entre vehículos en las vías de alta velocidad? ¿Ha escuchado el uso excesivo del claxon o bocina? Encontrarse con un conductor agresivo es un factor que promueve el estrés, favorece los accidentes y lleva a la pérdida de bienestar en general, tanto en contextos urbanos como en otros no tan urbanos. Reducir la agresividad vial no es una misión nada...

    La agresividad vial es un fenómeno que afecta a los conductores de todas las ciudades, sin importar ubicación geográfica o diferencias culturales. Aproximadamente uno de cada diez conductores se caracteriza por ser fuertemente agresivo. ¿Ha visto usted a algún conductor acercar su vehículo a otro de manera agresiva o no respetar la distancia entre vehículos en las vías de alta velocidad? ¿Ha escuchado el uso excesivo del claxon o bocina? Encontrarse con un conductor agresivo es un factor que promueve el estrés, favorece los accidentes y lleva a la pérdida de bienestar en general, tanto en contextos urbanos como en otros no tan urbanos. Reducir la agresividad vial no es una misión nada fácil. Para hacer que los conductores agresivos «reduzcan su velocidad», se requiere de la participación de todos los actores involucrados. En este trabajo nos enfocaremos en la Agresividad Vial, y en su Gestión Política.

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    ISBN: 978-607-8784-70-7