Effective Injury Prevention Programs Research Articles

The influence of organizational factors on occupational low back injuries.

The unique home care environment puts nurses at risk of low back injuries. Protecting nurses may mean the difference between delivering cost-effective quality care and no care at all. This study, conducted in Alberta, Canada, disclosed a lack of organizational resources and use of occupational health services in home care providers. Involving frontline staff as management partners may provide a solution for the development of an effective injury prevention program in home care.

CHIRPP: Canada's principal injury surveillance program

Surveillance is often held to be a key element in the development of effective injury prevention programs. When based in emergency rooms, it provides better estimates of the magnitude of...

Comparisons of variables between fatal and nonfatal accidents in manufacturing industry

This study concerns with the comparisons of variables between fatal and nonfatal accidents in Korean manufacturing industries. The national industrial accident statistics for the years 1991–1994 were extracted from the annual publications of Ministry of Labor. These data were used to compare the distributions of fatal and nonfatal injuries in terms of company size, injured person's age, work experience, accident time, activity at time of accident, accident type, injury type, injured body part, and accident agency. Results show that the distributions of the fatal injuries are statistically different from those of the nonfatal injuries: (1) nonfatal injuries occur more frequently in the younger workers, while deaths occur more frequently in the older workers; (2) the proportion of death occurring in night shift is greater than that of nonfatal injuries; (3) `caught in and between objects' is the most common type of accident, but the second common type of accident is `awkward or sudden movement' in the nonfatal injuries, instead of `falls from a height' in deaths; and (4) `fracture' is the leading caused injury and death, but the second leading type of injury is `contusion or bruise' in the nonfatal injuries and `cerebral concussion' in deaths. Relevance to industry Strategies for accident prevention should be in reasonable agreement with significant variables of occupational accidents. These results can be used to develop more effective accidental occupational death and injury prevention programs for manufacturing industry.

Program for reducing pedestrian-motor vehicle crashes.

Injury prevention has been identified as a component of emergency medicine. However, involvement of emergency physicians in injury prevention has been hindered by clinical responsibilities, lack of financial support, and limited expertise in skills necessary for effective injury prevention programs. This article describes the development and content of a statewide pedestrian safety plan prepared by the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of New Mexico. The plan included a written document, community input through focus groups, and a public information campaign. The written document included a synthesis of published literature, state-specific data, information on community interventions, and recommendations for state agencies and other groups interested in reducing pedestrian injuries. This project can be modeled at other academic EDs with an interest in injury prevention and pedestrian safety.

Education and training programs for the prevention of work injuries: do they work?

Education and training programs are popular approaches to deal with the prevention of occupational injuries and diseases. Although they are one of the less preferred injury control options, they can be effective in reducing risk and injury when used in combination with other control systems. An examination of the literature evaluating the effectiveness of injury prevention programs, particularly associated with back injury, is presented. Format, structure and content of programs is discussed and applied to a model addressing behaviour change (the Health Belief Model). This model is used to suggest ways of improving education and training programs to ensure the development and maintenance of behaviour change.

Injuries in Child-Care Centers: Rates, Severity, and Etiology

Injuries are the leading cause of mortality among children.1 To develop effective injury prevention programs, more information is needed regarding the incidence, severity, and etiology of injuries sustained by children of different age groups and in different settings. Childhood injury research has focused primarily on severe injuries and the physical environmental hazards that contribute to those injuries.2-4 Although the incidence of severe injuries is critically important from the perspective of morbidity and mortality, these injuries are relatively rare and consequently difficult to study. Scheidt5 has suggested that it may be useful to determine whether there are reliable markers of risk for severe injuries that are based on more frequently occurring events or easily observable indicators. Minor injuries, the most common type of injury that occurs in child-care settings,6-8 may be a marker of risk for severe injuries; however, previous research has not investigated the relationship between minor and severe injuries. Childhood injury research has also typically focused on a single category of etiologic factors, generally either environmental factors such as climbing equipment and impact surfaces,2,9 or child factors such as aggression, overactivity, and personal characteristics.10-11 The relative importance of different etiologic factors and the joint contributions of child-related and environmental factors have not been thoroughly examined. Research on childhood injuries indicates that a small subgroup of children, usually 15% to 20% of a sample, sustain the majority of injuries in any given setting.6,8,10,12 This phenomenon may be the result of chance or characteristics of the subgroup that may differ from those of other children.

Injury Prevention Program Eases Strained Backs

An analysis of three years of Eastern Municipal Water District workmen's compensation claims showed that back injuries were among the most common and expensive claims. To address the problem, the district researched and set up an injury prevention program. The program is two pronged: a light‐duty program for injured workers and an exercise program designed to reduce the number of injuries. The program's success rests on monitoring to ensure that interest and motivation among participants remains strong. Management support and flexibility are also vital components of an effective injury prevention program. One and a half years after the program was implemented, it continues to show excellent results in reducing the frequency and severity of back injuries.

Common Sense Strategies for Accident and Injury Prevention

The author presents a comprehensive set of initiatives and strategies for military line and medical commanders for developing effective injury prevention programs. These are not necessarily taken from preexisting written policies and instructions. Rather, they are based on his experiences in the preventive and occupational medicine field. These recommendations are for military personnel, their dependents, and federal civilian employees, and should be applied at work, at home, and during recreation.

The Potential for Using a Trauma Registry for Injury Surveillance and Prevention

Trauma registries are a potential source of data for local injury surveillance. Data from a trauma registry in a Level 1 trauma unit were collected for 1,412 admissions during a one-year period, and the characteristics of these severely injured patients and their injuries were examined. Three-quarters of the injuries were unintentional, and half were vehicle-related injuries. The availability of variables regarding medical cost, patient outcome, and insurance status permits a determination of the impact of these injuries on society in terms of both cost and quality of life. Since the trauma registry contains an account of the patient's hospital experience from admission to discharge and is available in electronic format, it can be a useful data source for establishing priorities and evaluating the effectiveness of injury prevention programs.