Characterization of fall patients: Does age matter?

IntroductionEvaluating age-specific fall characteristics is important for prevention programs. The aim was to characterize fallers who presented to our trauma center. We hypothesized that fall characteristics and outcomes would vary with age.MethodsData were retrospectively collected from the trauma registry and electronic medical records during January 1st, 2014-December 31st, 2015. Data were analyzed by Chi-square test with Yates’ continuity correction and one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni’s multiple comparisons test.ResultsThere were 1541 fallers, 814 (52.8%) were male. Ages ranged from 11 months to 100 years. The admission rate was high at 86%, with an average hospital stay of 5.7 days. Patients in the 0-18 and 19-45 age groups spent significantly less time in the hospital (p < 0.0001). Elderly patients had the highest average injury severity score (p < 0.0001). However, the youngest patients required surgery more often (p = 0.0004). The overall mortality rate was 3.6% and 52.8% were male. The mortality rate increased with age, from 0% for the 0-18 age group to 6.9% for patients ≥ 65 years of age. Remarkably, fallers in the 19-45 and 46-64 age groups predominantly died from ground level falls even though the average fall height in these groups was the highest (p < 0.0001). More fallers in the 19-45 and 46-64 age groups tested positive for alcohol/drug use (p < 0.0001). Middle-aged and elderly patients were more likely to be discharged to a skilled nursing or rehabilitation facility compared to younger patients who were discharged home.Conclusions and practical applicationsFall characteristics and outcomes varied with age. Data on age-specific characteristics, outcomes, and risk factors of falls will help in developing targeted interventions and may lead to better approaches to treat patients.     

Nighttime seat belt use among front seat passengers: Does the driver's belt use matter?

Introduction and Method: We explored the relationship between nighttime seat belt use of right-front passengers and their drivers using observational data from 33,310 vehicles in east Tennessee during March 2015 – May 2017. Results: Overall, nighttime passenger seat belt use varied by 50 percentage points from 92% when drivers were belted to 42% when drivers were not belted, suggesting that part-time seat belt users can be heavily influenced by the seat belt status of their traveling companions. When stratified by vehicle type and sex, passenger seat belt use by driver seat belt status varied as much as 74 percentage points from 96% to 22%. Passenger seat belt use was typically lower when riding with unbelted same-sex drivers than when riding with unbelted drivers of the opposite sex. Conclusions and Practical Applications: This finding suggests that the role of peer influence in decision-making about seat belt use may differ depending on the sex of a vehicle driver and his or her passengers. Further research is warranted to explore this finding as well as other social and cultural influences that have not been fully examined in seat belt research.     

Does time of day matter at highway work zone crashes?

Introduction: It is widely agreed that highway work zones pose significant threats to road users because driving conditions in work zones are quite different from the normal ones, particularly when traffic volumes approach a highway capacity. Therefore, work zone safety is a critical aspect for state agencies and traffic engineers. Method: In the current study, a total of 10,218 crashes that occurred in highway work zones in the state of Washington for the period between 2007 and 2013 were used. Time of day is disaggregated into four subgroups: (1) Morning from 6:00 to 11:00 a.m. (2) Midday from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. (3) Night from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m., and (4) Late night from 12:00 to 5:00 a.m. Then, four mixed logit models were estimated to account and correct for heterogeneity in the crash data by considering three injury severity levels: severe injury, minor injury, and no injury. Results: The estimation results reveal that most contributing factors are uniquely significant in a specific time of day period, whereas three factors affect injury severity regardless of time of day such as the indicators of not deployed airbag, one passenger vehicle involved in the crash, and rear-end collision. Further, some factors were found to affect injury severity into two or three time periods, such as female drivers that found to decrease the probability of no injury in morning and night time periods, while increasing severe injury outcome in midday time. Conclusions: The effect of time of day on injury severity of work-zone related crashes should be modeled separately rather than using a holistic model. Practical applications: As a starting point, findings of the current study can be used by transportation officials to reduce fatalities and injuries of work zone crashes by identifying factors that uniquely contribute to each time of day period.     

Administrative license suspension: Does length of suspension matter?

Objective: Administrative license revocation (ALR) laws, which provide that the license of a driver with a blood alcohol concentration at or over the illegal limit is subject to an immediate suspension by the state department of motor vehicles, are an example of a traffic law in which the sanction rapidly follows the offense. The power of ALR laws has been attributed to how swiftly the sanction is applied, but does the length of suspension matter? Our objectives were to (a) determine the relationship of the ALR suspension length to the prevalence of drinking drivers relative to sober drivers in fatal crashes and (b) estimate the extent to which the relationship is associated to the general deterrent effect compared to the specific deterrent effect of the law.

Methods: Data comparing the impact of ALR law implementation and ALR law suspension periods were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques on the ratio of drinking drivers to nondrinking drivers in fatal crashes from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Results: States with an ALR law with a short suspension period (1–30 days) had a significantly lower drinking driver ratio than states with no ALR law. States with a suspension period of 91–180 days had significantly lower ratios than states with shorter suspension periods, while the three states with suspension lengths of 181 days or longer had significantly lower ratios than states with shorter suspension periods.

Discussion: The implementation of any ALR law was associated with a 13.1% decrease in the drinking/nondrinking driver fatal crash ratio but only a 1.8% decrease in the intoxicated/nonintoxicated fatal crash ratio. The ALR laws and suspension lengths had a significant general deterrent effect, but no specific deterrent effect.

Practical Implications: States might want to keep (or adopt) ALR laws for their general deterrent effects and pursue alternatives for specific deterrent effects. States with short ALR suspension periods should consider lengthening them to 91 days or longer.     

Does company size matter? Validation of an integrative model of safety behavior across small and large construction companies

Introduction: Previous safety climate studies primarily focused on either large construction companies or the construction industry as a whole, while little is known about whether company size has significant effects on workers' understanding of safety climate measures and relationships between safety climate factors and safety behavior. Thus, this study aims to: (a) test the measurement equivalence (ME) of a safety climate measure across workers from small and large companies; (b) investigate if company size alters the causal structure of the integrative model developed by Guo, Yiu, and González (2016). Method: Data were collected from 253 construction workers in New Zealand using a safety climate measure. This study used multi-group confirmatory factor analyses (MCFA) to test the measurement equivalence of the safety climate measure and structure invariance of the integrative model. Results: Results indicate that workers from small and large companies understood the safety climate measure in a similar manner. In addition, it was suggested that company size does not change the causal structure and mediational processes of the integrative model. Conclusions: Both measurement equivalence of the safety climate measure and structural invariance of the integrative model were supported by this study. Practical applications: Findings of this study provided strong support for a meaningful use of the safety climate measure across construction companies in different sizes. Safety behavior promotion strategies designed based on the integrative model may be well suited for both large and small companies.     

Does safety climate moderate the influence of staffing adequacy and work conditions on nurse injuries?

PROBLEM: Hospital nurses have one of the highest work-related injury rates in the United States. Yet, approaches to improving employee safety have generally focused on attempts to modify individual behavior through enforced compliance with safety rules and mandatory participation in safety training. We examined a theoretical model that investigated the impact on nurse injuries (back injuries and needlesticks) of critical structural variables (staffing adequacy, work engagement, and work conditions) and further tested whether safety climate moderated these effects. METHOD: A longitudinal, non-experimental, organizational study, conducted in 281 medical-surgical units in 143 general acute care hospitals in the United States. RESULTS: Work engagement and work conditions were positively related to safety climate, but not directly to nurse back injuries or needlesticks. Safety climate moderated the relationship between work engagement and needlesticks, while safety climate moderated the effect of work conditions on both needlesticks and back injuries, although in unexpected ways. DISCUSSION AND IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Our findings suggest that positive work engagement and work conditions contribute to enhanced safety climate and can reduce nurse injuries.     

Predicting the safety performance of volunteers: Does motivation for volunteering influence driving behavior?

Volunteering has long been known for its positive effects on the individual and the community. However, no research to date has examined the safety of individuals when volunteering their services. The safety of individuals when driving a vehicle is particularly a concern in the nonprofit sector as volunteers is leaving organizations due to fear of public liability. As such, this paper aims to identify the internal motivational factors influencing the safety of volunteers when driving a vehicle (n = 73). Utilizing Clary’s et al. [Clary, E.G., Snyder, M., Ridge, R.D., Copeland, J., Stukas, A.A., Haugen, J., Miene, P., 1998. Understanding and assessing the motivations of volunteers: a functional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74, 1516–1530] scale of the motivational functions served by volunteering, we found that individuals who volunteer their services for ego-related functioning (protective) were more likely to report higher self-reported driving speeds, while individuals who volunteer their services for altruistic purposes (values) were more likely to report lower self-reported driving speeds. In turn, higher self-reported driving speeds were found to be associated with a greater number of self-reported crashes in the past two years. These results have important implications for volunteer driving organizations, as these results suggest that some motivations are associated with poorer driving performance.     

Underwater LNG release: Does a pool form on the water surface? What are the characteristics of the vapor released?

One of the scenarios of concern in assessing the safety issues related to transportation of LNG in a marine environment (ship or underwater pipeline) is the release of LNG underwater. This scenario has not been given the same level of scientific attention in the literature compared to surface releases and assessment of consequences therefrom. This paper addresses questions like, (1) does an LNG spill underwater form a pool on the water surface and subsequently evaporate like an LNG spill “on the surface” producing cold, heavier than air vapors?, and (2) what is the range of expected temperatures of the vapor, generated by LNG release due to heat transfer within the water column, when it emanates from the water surface?Very limited data from two field tests of LNG underwater release are reviewed. Also presented are the results from tests conducted in other related industries (metal casting, nuclear fission and fusion, chemical processing, and alternative fuel vehicles) where a hot (or cold) liquid is injected into a bulk cold (or hot) liquid at different depths.A mathematical model is described which calculates the temperature of vapor emanating at the water surface, and the liquid fraction of released LNG that surfaces, if any, to form a pool on the water surface. The model includes such variables as the LNG release rate, diameter of the jet at release, depth of release and water body temperature. Results obtained from the model for postulated release conditions are presented. Comparison of predicted results with available LNG underwater release test data is also provided.     

Should the subjective be the objective? On studying mental processes,coping behavior,and actual exposures in organizational stress research

Emphasis on measuring actual (‘objective’) job exposures has increased in recent organizational behavior/human resource management research. I argue that this approach has greater potential for increasing knowledge about how to make work environments more healthy than the alternative approach of focusing on mental processes and individual coping behaviors suggested by Perrewe and Zellars. Incorporating psychological knowledge about attributions and emotions can enhance theory building in the organizational sciences. However, given that health outcomes are more strongly related to continuous exposures it may be better to focus on modal job content and general tendencies of individuals than to emphasize discrete events and specific, transitory states. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are you okay to drive? Commuting behavior and blood alcohol concentrations among restaurant diners

Objective: Drink driving is widely recognized as a major road safety problem. In Australia, health promotion messages encourage monitoring the number of standard drinks consumed prior to driving. This pilot research aimed to investigate commuting behavior and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of diners, including intended drivers, at Sunshine Coast restaurants.

Methods: Five hundred and forty-four diners (n = 260 males) consented to participate in a brief interview and to use a breathalyzer device to measure their BAC.

Results: Forty percent of participants advised they don't drink and drive (34% of males, 45% of females; 67.25% of <17–20 years, 30.5% of 50–59 years), and of the remaining participants, 75% advised they count the number of their drinks (69% of males, 84% of females; 32% of <17–20 years, 82% of 50–59 years), while 10% of participants monitored their BAC by how they were feeling (12% of males, 6% of females). Thirty-seven percent of participants said it was easy/very easy to estimate their BAC (41% of males; 33% of females; 21% of <17–20 years, 43% of 50–59 years). The actual BAC was less than expected for 56% of participants, with one-third underestimating BAC and some intended drivers having an actual BAC in excess of the 0.05 limit.

Conclusions: Given the proportion of diners who reported they count the number of drinks, or use feelings as a way to gauge BAC, coupled with the considerable proportion who underestimated their BAC, a safer public health message is to avoid driving if you intend to drink. In addition, targeted intervention for experienced drivers (and, arguably, drinkers) appears warranted, as every participant aged less than 21 years who stated he or she would drive home indeed had a zero BAC. Interestingly every female driver who stated she would be driving home also had a legal BAC, suggesting gender-specific intervention.     

Exploring the linkage between the home domain and absence from work: Health,motivation, or both?

The aim of this study was twofold. First, we examined depleting and enriching effects of employees' home domain (home demands and quality time spent at home) on unscheduled absence from work. Second, we tested the assumption of the medical and withdrawal models that absence duration and frequency are uniquely predicted by respectively health condition and job motivation. We used longitudinal, different‐source data from 1014 employees. The results showed that home quality time was negatively related to absence frequency and duration in the following year through a physical pathway (less physical stress symptoms and health complaints) and through a psychological pathway (less psychological stress symptoms, increased job motivation). Employees with heavy home demands reported more physical and psychological stress symptoms, more health complaints, and lower job motivation. Accordingly, they had longer and more frequent sick leaves in the consecutive year. We conclude that the home domain adds to our understanding of absence from work. In addition, the model including cross pathways between health complaints and job motivation on the one hand, and absence frequency and duration on the other, best fitted the data. Thus, a clear distinction between volitional absence (frequency) and absence due to illness (duration) seems hard to justify. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pedestrian distraction: The effects of road environment complexity and age on pedestrian’s visual attention and crossing behavior

Introduction: Little is known about how characteristics of the environment affect pedestrians’ road crossing behavior. Method: In this work, the effect of typical urban visual clutter created by objects and elements in the road proximity (e.g., billboards) on adults and children (aged 9–13) road crossing behavior was examined in a controlled laboratory environment, utilizing virtual reality scenarios projected on a large dome screen. Results: Divided into three levels of visual load, results showed that high visual load affected children’s and adults’ road crossing behavior and visual attention. The main effect on participants’ crossing decisions was seen in missed crossing opportunities. Children and adults missed more opportunities to cross the road when exposed to more cluttered road environments. An interaction with age was found in the dispersion of the visual attention measure. Children, 9–10 and 11–13 years old, had a wider spread of gazes across the scene when the environment was highly loaded—an effect not seen with adults. However, unexpectedly, no other indication of the deterring effect was found in the current study. Still, according to the results, it is reasonable to assume that busier road environments can be more hazardous to adult and child pedestrians. Practical Applications: In that context, it is important to further investigate the possible distracting effect of causal objects in the road environment on pedestrians, and especially children. This knowledge can help to create better safety guideline for children and assist urban planners in creating safer urban environments.     

Restraint use and seating position among children less than 13 years of age: Is it still a problem?

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to calculate national estimates and examine the extent to which children prematurely use adult seat belts and ride in the front seat of a vehicle during a 30 day period.

Methods

Data were obtained from a nationally representative cross-sectional random-digit-dial telephone survey that included child-specific questions on motor vehicle restraint use and seating position.

Results

Among children less than 13 years, parents reported an estimated 618,337 who rode unrestrained and more than one million who rode in the front seat of a vehicle at least some of the time in the past 30 days. During the same time period, close to 11 million children 8 years and younger reportedly used only adult seat belts.

Discussion

Our results highlight the need for continued outreach to parents regarding optimal restraint use and rear seating position for children every trip, every time.     

The passion bug: How and when do leaders inspire work passion?

Drawing from signaling theory, we propose a work passion transfer model where leaders' passion is transmitted to employees through the former's leadership style and is contingent on employees' perceived importance of performance to self-esteem (IPSE). Data from 201 supervisor–employee dyads from the health-care industry show that leaders' harmonious passion led to employees' harmonious passion through charismatic leadership, whereas contingent reward leadership accounted for the transfer of obsessive passion; IPSE did not play a moderating role for either form of passion. Results from a supplementary study further reveal that the link between leadership and employee passion operated through employees' perception of leader passion and that employees' IPSE accentuated for the relationship between perceived leader obsessive passion and employees' obsessive passion. This study advances research in work passion, leadership, and signaling theory and provides important implications for managerial practice.     

Episodic envy and counterproductive work behaviors: Is more justice always good?

The authors examined how perceived event‐specific procedural and distributive justice about own and envied others' outcomes interacts with episodic envy to predict counterproductive work behaviors. Our results were consistent with the attribution model of justice, finding that episodic envy significantly predicted counterproductive work behaviors aimed at envied others in the workplace and that this relationship was more pronounced when perceptions of procedural, but not distributive, justice about own or envied others' outcomes were high rather than low. We tested a moderated‐mediation model in which self‐attributions for the outcome mediated the effect of episodic envy on counterproductive work behaviors and that the effect of envy was stronger when perceptions of own or others' procedural justice were high rather than low. This research contributes to the literature on envy processes in the workplace and is the first to use a specific emotion, envy, as a proxy for a negative outcome in a demonstration of the attribution model of justice. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Zn composite corrosion resistance coatings: What works and what does not work?

Corrosion is one of the most significant contributors to structural degradation in process industries. It causes process equipment failure, which can led to severe safety issues. One approach to address this concern is to provide a preventive barrier-coating to equipment. Due to its superior reductive property, zinc is usually employed as a sacrificial anode in conventional corrosion-resistance methods. Nickel is also used to both mechanically strengthen the barrier and improve overall corrosion resistance; therefore, zinc, zinc-nickel alloys, and zinc-nickel-oxide composite coatings are commonly employed for anti-corrosion purposes. The complexation of zinc and nickel ions by agents (citrate, acetate and EDTA) can stabilize the electrodeposition bath and extend the pH of Ni(OH)₂ and ZnO precipitation to improve corrosion resistance in the resultant coating. This paper reviews the challenge with these type of coatings and presents progress in Zn and Zn-Ni composite corrosion resistance coatings co-deposited with Al₂O₃, TiO₂, ZrO₂, SiO₂, and Fe₂O₃ as means of corrosion control to reduce the probability of process equipment failure due to corrosion, which will improve the overall safety and reliability of processing equipment.     

Business strategy,work processes and human resource training: are they congruent?

This study examines the extent to which human resource (HR) training (content and context) is contingent on business strategy (i.e. classified according to Miles and Snow (1984) typology—‘Designing strategic human resource systems’, Organizational Dynamics, 13 , 36–52) as well as the characteristics of the work process. Sixty‐five Spanish organizations (i.e. 65 senior executives and 65 senior HR officers) participated in the study. Using primarily factorial and cluster analyses, support was found to the assertion that companies adopting a particular type of training strategy/policy have a high degree of internal consistency amongst the training objectives sought. In terms of work processes and training, results indicate that under work processes where the content of work provides for enrichment and for long‐term results, companies tend to adopt training strategies where emphasis is on enhancement of individual specialized skills aimed at improving direct productivity. By contrast, firms who use work processes that are characterized by repetitive and routine tasks, de‐emphasize this type of training content. Results also indicae that limited level of contingencies exist between training policies and business strategy, especially when time dimension is also accounted for. While the theory suggests that organizations that have their HR training fit (contingent) on their business strategy are more effective, the empirical results portrayed in this study shows a more complex picture. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crash risk perception of sleepy driving and its comparisons with drink driving and speeding: Which behavior is perceived as the riskiest?

Objective: Driver sleepiness is a major crash risk factor but may be underrecognized as a risky driving behavior. Sleepy driving is usually rated as less of a road safety issue than more well-known risky driving behaviors, such as drink driving and speeding. The objective of this study was to compare perception of crash risk of sleepy driving, drink driving, and speeding.

Methods: Three hundred Australian drivers completed a questionnaire that assessed crash risk perceptions for sleepy driving, drink driving, and speeding. Additionally, the participants' perceptions of crash risk were assessed for 5 different contextual scenarios that included different levels of sleepiness (low, high), driving duration (short, long), and time of day/circadian influences (afternoon, nighttime) of driving.

Results: The analysis confirmed that sleepy driving was considered a risky driving behavior but not as risky as high levels of speeding (P < .05). Yet, the risk of crashing at 4 a.m. was considered as equally risky as low levels of speeding (10 km over the limit). The comparisons of the contextual scenarios revealed driving scenarios that would arguably be perceived as quite risky because time of day/circadian influences were not reported as high risk.

Conclusions: The results suggest a lack of awareness or appreciation of circadian rhythm functioning, particularly the descending phase of circadian rhythm that promotes increased sleepiness in the afternoon and during the early hours of the morning. Yet, the results suggested an appreciation of the danger associated with long-distance driving and driver sleepiness. Further efforts are required to improve the community's awareness of the impairing effects from sleepiness and, in particular, knowledge regarding the human circadian rhythm and the increased sleep propensity during the circadian nadir.