José Ignacio Nazif-Muñoz

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Université de Sherbrooke

Background This study assesses the impact of heatwaves on road safety in five Québec cities (Montréal, Québec City, Laval, Longueuil, and Sherbrooke) from June to September 2015–2022. Using Urban Heat Island (UHI), 90th and 95th percentile thresholds for heatwaves, we analyze their effects on collisions, traffic injuries, and killed and seriously i...

Introduction In Canada, alcohol-impaired driving is a persistent public health concern in need of effective community-based prevention strategies. This study examined the association between the number of rides offered by a safe-ride program in the province of Quebec every December and alcohol-related injury crashes during the 2000–2019 period. Me...

The relationship between non-pharmaceutical COVID-19 (NP-COVID-19) interventions, which aimed to regulate public behavior to curb the spread of the virus, and road safety has become a crucial area of research to explore the unintended consequences of the pandemic. This study examines the five cities of Quebec, Canada, to assess the impact of NP-COV...

Introduction Understanding the impact of non-pharmaceutical COVID-19 interventions (NPIs) on road safety has become increasingly important to uncover the unintended consequences of the pandemic. This study explores how NPIs influenced alcohol-related and speed-related traffic collisions, including fatalities and serious injuries, in five cities of...

Objectives The primary objective of this project was to develop a comprehensive COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions’ index for the province of Québec (QCnPI-Index). The resulting database systematically categorizes, multiple non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented in the 17 administrative regions (AR) of the province of Québec to mitigat...

Coincident with the legalisation of cannabis in many nations, rates of cannabis use during pregnancy have increased. Like prior investigations on smoking and alcohol, understanding how prenatal cannabis exposure (PCE) impacts offspring outcomes across the lifespan will be critical for informing choices for pregnant people, clinicians, and policy ma...

Objectives Aiming to disseminate information related to suicide prevention in Brazil, the “Setembro Amarelo” campaign has been conducted since 2015. The objective of this study is to assess the association between this campaign and elderly suicide rates over a 12-year period. Methods Data were gathered from the Mortality Information System and the...

Background and aims Public health concerns regarding pregnant women’s health after the enactment of the Cannabis Act in Canada (CAC) (a law that allowed non‐medical cannabis use), and the potential impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic, call for a contemporary assessment of these two events. Our study measured associations between the CAC, the COVID‐19 p...

Background. Maternal education may influence child supervision practices in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC). However, little is known about the maternal factors that can improve child supervision in LMIC with scarce childcare facilities. Objective. To investigate the prevalence of children under 5 years home alone and examine the association...

Objective To assess the impact of tobacco control regulations and policy implementation on smoking cessation tendencies in cigarette users born between 1982 and 1991 in Chile. Design Longitudinal cross-sectional study. Setting National level. Participants Data from the National Survey of Drug Consumption (Service of Prevention and Rehabilitation...

Climate change profoundly affects various aspects of life, prompting increased research into its impact on traffic safety. Understanding the association between climate change, particularly heatwaves, and traffic collisions requires robust methodologies encompassing different urbanization features. This study focuses on five major cities in Québec...

The association between non-pharmaceutical COVID-19 (NP-COVID-19) interventions, which aimed to regulate public behaviour to curb the spread of COVID-19, and road safety has become a significant focus in understanding the unintended consequences of the pandemic. This study concentrates on 17 administrative units to assess the impact of NP-COVID-19...

Objectives: The primary objective of this project was to develop a comprehensive COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions’ index for the province of Quebec (QCnPI-Index), Canada. The resulting and open access database systematically categorizes, multiple non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the 17 admi...

We developed a database to assess Chile's substance use control policies implemented in the 2000–10 decade. The database includes the measurement of consumption of substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and drugs (cannabis, cocaine, and “pasta base” (crack)), individual, relationships, and environmental factors related to substance use, and variables...

Background Data on driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA) are not always available, accurate, or reliable, making it difficult to study the effects of alcohol policies on road traffic outcomes. The objectives of our study were twofold: 1) to describe how road traffic outcomes of alcohol policies are assessed when DUIA data are missing, and 2...

Chile currently has a relatively robust tobacco control policy approach. Nonetheless, it has one of the highest tobacco consumption prevalence rates among adults worldwide. Better knowledge regarding changes in tobacco control policy over time may provide a comprehensive understanding of the observed changes in the prevalence of tobacco consumption...

Research from industrialized settings has linked inadequate child supervision with various negative consequences. Nevertheless, empirical research in lower- and middle-income countries about correlates of inadequate child supervision has been scarce. The few studies that exist tended to focus on individual- and household-level factors, and reported...

Background: Road safety policies (RSPs) have emerged worldwide. Yet, while an important group of RSPs have been regarded as necessary to reduce traffic crashes and their consequences, the impact of others remain inconclusive. To advance knowledge on this debate, this article focuses on the potential effects of two RSPs: i) road safety agencies (RS...

Introduction: In the past decade, a group of studies has begun to explore the association between cannabis recreational use policies and traffic crashes. After these policies are set in place, several factors may affect cannabis consumption, including the number of cannabis stores (NCS) per capita. This study examines the association between the e...

Background: More than 270000 people die every year from alcohol-related crashes across the world. Introducing alcohol per se laws (APL) based upon a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) threshold of 0.05ml% could save at least 16304 lives. Nevertheless, little is known about the evolution in adoption of APLs at this BAC threshold. This study organize...

Background Brazil occupies the fifth position in the ranking of the highest mortality rates due to RTI in the world. With the objective of promoting traffic safety and consequently reducing deaths, Brazil created the Life in Traffic Project (LTP). The main goal of LTP is reducing 50% of RTI deaths, by promoting interventions to tackle risk factors,...

Introduction: There is substantial debate concerning the impact of cannabis decriminalization and legalization on road safety outcomes. Methods: Seven databases were systematically searched: Embase, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO through Ovid as well as Web of Science Core Collection, SafetyLit, Criminal Justice Database (ProQuest), and Transport Researc...

Pedestrians are vulnerable road users that are directly exposed to road traffic crashes with high odds of resulting in serious injuries and fatalities. Therefore, there is a critical need to identify the risk factors associated with injury severity in pedestrian crashes to promote safe and friendly walking environments for pedestrians. This study i...

Background: In June 2013, an alcohol-related traffic law took effect in Turkey. The law 6487 introduced administrative fines for not respecting blood alcohol concentration limits, health warning messages on alcohol containers (bottles, cans), and prohibited the sale of alcohol beverages in retail facilities between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.. This article...

Introduction The extent to which structural gender inequality contributes to macro-level differences in postpartum depression (PPD) remains largely unknown. Objectives To examine the association of structural gender inequalities with national-level prevalence estimates of PPD symptoms. Methods Meta-analytically derived national-level estimates fo...

Background: Household air pollution (HAP) from solid fuel use (SFU) for cooking may impact child health in low-resources countries. This study examined the associations between HAP and early childhood development (ECD) outcomes among children under 5 years of age in Bangladesh and explored potential effect modification by sex and urbanicity. Metho...

Sexual and reproductive health and rights policies (SRHRPs) and their association with reproductive and non-reproductive behavior require precise theoretical and methodological frames. By studying the case of Colombia, we move forward with a comprehensive framework that considers simultaneously multiple SRHRP conceptualizations and their impacts ov...

Background Annually, more than 379 000 motorcycle occupants across the world die in motor-vehicle collisions—84% of these fatalities occurred in Low- and Middle-Income countries. Recent studies suggest that the Uber’s four-wheeler ride-sharing service (UberCAR) may reduce traffic fatalities. However, research has not considered how Uber’s two-wheel...

Global convergence of public policies has been regarded as a defining feature of the late twentieth century. This study explores the generalizability of this thesis for three road safety measures: (i) road safety agencies; (ii) child restraint laws; and (iii) mandatory use of daytime running lights. This study analyzes cross-national longitudinal d...

Background An emergent group of studies have examined the extent under which ridesharing may decrease alcohol-related crashes in countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, and Chile. Virtually all existent studies have assumed that ridesharing is equally distributed across socioeconomic groups, potentially masking differences across t...

Background: The role of structural gender inequality in macro-level differences in women's perinatal mental health remains largely unexplored. This short communication explores structural gender inequalities and their potential as a macro-level, upstream social determinant of postpartum depression (PPD). Methods: We compiled meta-analytically deriv...

Global convergence of public policies has been regarded as a defining feature of the late twentieth century. This study explores the generalizability of this thesis for three road safety measures: i) road safety agencies; ii) child restraint laws; and iii) mandatory use of daytime running lights. We analyze cross-national longitudinal data using su...

Background: There remains a dearth of cross-city comparisons on the impact of climate change through extreme temperature and precipitation events on road safety. We examined trends in traffic fatalities, injuries and property damage associated with high temperatures and heavy rains in Boston (USA) and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). Methods:...

Background On January 30th 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a international health emergency due to the unprecedented phenomenon of COVID-19. After this declaration countries swiftly implemented a variety of health policies. In this work we examine how rapid countries responded to this pandemic using two events: the day in which t...

Background: With the introduction of ridesharing through cell phone applications, the shape of transport systems has changed dramatically. An emergent group of studies have examined the extent under which ridesharing may decrease alcohol-related crashes in countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Chile. Virtually all existent st...

The article analyses an original dataset on policies adopted in 47 European countries between December 2019 and June 2020 to prevent coronavirus from spreading to prisons, applying event-history analysis. We answer two questions: 1) Do European countries adopt similar policies when tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in prisons? 2) What factors are asso...

Background: Household Air Pollution (HAP) from solid fuel use (SFU) may have impacts on childrens health in low-resources countries. Despite these potential health effects, SFU is still highly prevalent in Bangladesh. Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the associations between SFU and early childhood development index (ECDI) among und...

Background: While greenness has been associated with lower depression, the generalizability of this association in arid landscapes remains undetermined. We assessed the association between depression and residential greenness, but also brownness and grayness among nursing students living in El Paso, Texas (the Chihuahuan desert). Methods: Depres...

Background: While greenness has been associated with lower depression, the generalizability of this association in arid landscapes remains undetermined. We assessed the association between depression and greenness among nursing students living in El Paso, Texas (the Chihuahuan desert). Methods: Depression was measured with the Patient Health Questi...

In Ghana, more than 77% of the population depends on biomass fuels for cooking. Previous studies show that solid fuel use (SFU) has adverse effects on pregnancy and child health outcomes. Yet, no previous study considered potential effects on early child development indicators (ECDI), nor how SFU effects may vary by gender, and rural and urban area...

Background With the exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries swiftly implemented a variety of health policies. In this work we examine how rapid countries responded to this pandemic using two events: the day in which the first case of COVID-19 was reported, and first day in which countries used school closure as one of the measures to avoid out...

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is challenging societies, governments and economies at an unprecedented scale. Policy responses to face the epidemic virus had varied greatly among countries, from massive testing, large scale lockdowns to more voluntary approaches for social distancing. The analysis of such policies has been framed...

Background It is estimated that more than 270 000 people die yearly in alcohol-related crashes globally. To tackle this burden, government interventions, such as laws which restrict blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels and increase penalties for drunk drivers, have been implemented. The introduction of private-sector measures, such as rideshari...

Background: In April 2016 Chile enacted the Law 20.900, which restricted electoral publicity on public roads. It established two important regulations: first, candidates were allowed, 30 days before any election, to publicize their campaigns in specific street locations. Second, roadside publicity must follow strict size standards to avoid visual...

Background and aims: While cannabis use has been found to impair motor vehicle driving, the association between cannabis legalisation and motor vehicle fatalities is unclear. In Uruguay in December 2013, cannabis for recreational purposes was legalized. This study assessed the association between implementation of this law and changes in traffic f...

Objectives: We assessed the effectiveness of the child restraint legislation (CRL) introduced in Chile in December 2005 and the National Decree enacted in February 2007, which regulated the technical characteristics of child restraint devices with the goal of reducing child occupant fatalities and severe injuries nationally and within Chile's regi...

The main objective of this data article is to present the data set which depicts the impact of child restraint legislation in Chile and its regions. The population of the study consisted of all car crashes records provided by the national police from 2002 to 2014, which included children aged 0–3. Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average ARIMA and...

Researchers have paid little attention to non-adult child supervision and the prevalence and factors influencing this practice in low-income countries. A better understanding of this phenomenon is needed to inform the development and implementation of policies and interventions to enhance child supervision in those settings. This study explores the...

Despite scarce empirical research in most countries, evidence has shown that young children are unsupervised or under the supervision of another young child while their adult caregivers attend work or engage in other activities outside the home. Lack of quality supervision has been linked to unintentional childhood injuries and other negative outco...

Background: In 2010, Brazil introduced child restraint legislation (CRL). We assessed the effectiveness of CRL in reducing child (aged 0-8 years) injuries and fatalities by race. We performed an evaluation study with an interrupted time-series design. Methods: We measured the effect of CRL on two outcomes-number of child deaths and number of chi...

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the short- and long-term impacts of Serbia's 2009 update of child restraint and seat belt legislation on the incidence of pediatric motor vehicle–related injury. With this new law, the use of child restraints in children age 0–3 became mandatory, and children 4–12 had to wear seat belts in the...

Objectives: This study aimed to synthesise the available knowledge, identify unexplored areas and discuss general limits of the published evidence. We focused on outcomes commonly hypothesised to be affected by child labour: nutritional status, harmful exposures and injuries. Methods: Four electronic databases (EMBASE, MEDLINE, Scopus, ISI Web o...

This document presents the results of the Road Safety Performance Review of the Dominican Republic, developed by ECLAC between 2015 and 2017 as part of the project of the United Nations Development Account: “Strengthening national capacity in road safety in developing countries and economies ”whose objective was to help a group of selected countrie...

Introduction 96 countries in the world have enacted child restraints and booster legislation (CRBL). Yet, findings regarding the effectiveness of CRBLs are mixed. The current study is the first to examine the association between Israel’s CRBL, implemented in November 2004, and the traffic injury and fatality rates among children aged 0–9 years. We...

The objective of this study is to determine the contribution of Chile's 2005 child restraint legislation to the reduction of child passenger fatalities and severe injuries. We analysed motor vehicle injury and fatality data from Chile's National Road Safety Commission of the Ministry of Transport from 2000 to 2012 to determine the effect of Chile's...

Aims: To assess the impact of demographic, intrapersonal and environmental factors on the likelihood in Chile of becoming a passenger of an alcohol-impaired driver (PAID). Design: Multi-level cross-sectional study. Setting: Data were acquired from two large-scale household surveys of representative samples of Chile's Metropolitan Region. Part...

Background The objective of this study is to determine the association between Chile's 2005 child restraint legislation (CRL) and the incidence of severe paediatric motor vehicle-related injury. Methods We analysed motor vehicle injury data from Chile's Road Safety Commission from 2000 to 2012 to determine the association between Chile's 2005 CRL...

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the contribution of Chile’s 2005 child restraint legislation to the reduction in child severe traffic injuries. Methods: We analyzed motor vehicle injury data from Chile’s Ministry of Transport National Road Safety Commission from 2000 to 2012 to determine the effect of Chile’s 2005 mandatory c...

Objective: The objective of the current study is to determine what factors have been associated with the global adoption of mandatory child restraint laws (ChRLs) since 1975. Methods: In order to determine what factors explained the global adoption of mandatory ChRLs, Weibull models were analyzed. To carry out this analysis, 170 countries were c...

The objective of the current study is to determine to what extent the reduction of Chile's traffic fatalities and injuries during 2000-2012 was related to the police traffic enforcement increment registered after the introduction of its 2005 traffic law reform. A unique dataset with assembled information from public institutions and analyses based...

Objectives: The objective of the current study is to determine the contribution of Chile's 2005 traffic law reform, police enforcement, and road investment infrastructure to the reduction of traffic fatalities and severe injuries from 2000 to 2012. Methods: Analyses based on structural equation models were carried out using a unique database mer...

This study examines the major factors that predict states’ repressive policies, focusing on the relationship between oppositional terror attacks and state repression of core human rights. We rely on a theoretical framework that brings together actor-oriented explanations and socio-cultural approaches. While the former emphasize purposive rational a...

Three theories offer different explanations to the understanding of male drink-driving. In order to test road safety education, deterrence, and social capital theories, logistic regression analysis was applied to predict respondents' statements of having or not having engaged in actual drink-driving (DD). Variable for road safety education theory w...