Predictors of rear seat belt use among U.S. adults, 2012

IntroductionSeat belt use reduces the risk of injuries and fatalities among motor vehicle occupants in a crash, but belt use in rear seating positions is consistently lower than front seating positions. Knowledge is limited concerning factors associated with seat belt use among adult rear seat passengers.MethodsData from the 2012 ConsumerStyles survey were used to calculate weighted percentages of self-reported rear seat belt use by demographic characteristics and type of rear seat belt use enforcement. Multivariable regression was used to calculate prevalence ratios for rear seat belt use, adjusting for person-, household- and geographic-level demographic variables as well as for type of seat belt law in place in the state.ResultsRear seat belt use varied by age, race, geographic region, metropolitan status, and type of enforcement. Multivariable regression showed that respondents living in states with primary (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio (APR): 1.23) and secondary (APR: 1.11) rear seat belt use enforcement laws were significantly more likely to report always wearing a seat belt in the rear seat compared with those living in a state with no rear seat belt use enforcement law.Conclusions and practical applicationsSeveral factors were associated with self-reported seat belt use in rear seating positions. Evidence suggests that primary enforcement covering all seating positions is an effective intervention that can be employed to increase seat belt use and in turn prevent motor vehicle injuries to rear-seated occupants.     

美国职业卫生法规、监管及统计体系

美国是工业发达国家,是世界上最早建立“职业安全和卫生法”的国家之一。基于该法,美国确立以职业安全卫生监察局(OSHA)为执法机构、职业安全卫生复审委员会(OSHRC)为监督机构的职业卫生监管体系;同时,以劳工统计局(BLS)为统计主管机构,建立以“1904规范”为基础的企业雇主对其作业场所职业卫生记录和报告制度,并辅以两种形式的政府主动调查,形成了自下至上和自上至下相结合的调查统计体系。目前,我国职业卫生的调查统计体系尚未形成。因此,需要从工业发达国家的职业卫生法规、监管入手,以系统的方法和思路,分析其调查统计体系,学习工业发达国家的经验。研究结果认为美国的职业卫生统计体系具有上层法律及相关条例完备、组织体系职责分明、形成了政府主动调查与企业记录报告相结合的调查统计体系等明显的特点。     

Youth on racial minority operated U.S. farms, 2008: Demographics and injuries

IntroductionTo obtain injury surveillance data for youth on racial minority operated farms, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health developed the Minority Farm Operator Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (M-CAIS) in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.MethodsUsing a regionally stratified telephone survey of U.S. minority operated farm households, M-CAIS data were collected for youth less than 20 years of age.ResultsThere were an estimated 37,443 youth living on racial minority operated U.S. farms in 2008, almost half (46%) of these youth worked on the farm. Racial minority farm operators hired 6,443 youth, and reported an estimated 775,991 youth relative and other visitors on the farm. These youth suffered an estimated 516 injuries (5.9 injuries/1000 farms).ConclusionsHousehold youth had an injury rate of 7.8 injuries/1000 household youth and a work-related injury rate of 6.9 injuries/1000 working household youth.Practical applicationsThe research enables agricultural safety and health researchers, practitioners, and educators to identify priorities and design trainings and interventions to minimize the risk of farm hazards to youth on racial minority farm operations in the United States.     

Coverage of motor vehicle crashes with injuries in U.S. newspapers, 1999-2002

Problem

The aims of the study were to evaluate information on motor-vehicle crashes with injuries provided in newspaper reports and to assess the frequency of thematic and episodic reporting of motor-vehicle crashes.

Method

The study used Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) derived variables to code a nationally representative sample of U.S. newspaper reports of motor-vehicle crashes from 1999-2002. A total of 473 newspaper reports of motor-vehicle crashes with injuries were included. Information on the crash event, people involved, and vehicles was extracted. The reports were coded for episodic and thematic news framing.

Results

A majority of newspaper reports used episodic framing. The majority of reports included information on the type of crash, but characteristics about people and vehicles were rarely reported.

Discussion

Lack of information in newspapers makes them an incomplete source from which to influence public perceptions and attitudes.

Impact on industry

This provides an opportunity for news print media to improve public health content.

Impact on industry

Newspapers represent an important source of public information; they are, however, an incomplete source [Voight, B., Lapidus, G., Zavoski, R., & Banco, L. (1998). Injury reporting in Connecticut newspapers. Injury Prevention, 4, 292-294.; Baullinger, J., Quan, L., Bennett, E., Cummings, P., & Williams, K. (2001). Use of Washington state newspaper for submersion injury surveillance. Injury Prevention, 7, 339-342]. To increase the accuracy of information provided to the public through media sources, there is a need for increased communication between public health professionals and reporters.The results of this study raise concerns about the contents of motor-vehicle crash information provided in newspapers and suggest that newspapers do not provide information to allow public perception to be in accord with the importance of motor-vehicle crash injuries and health promoting actions to reduce risk of injury. More balanced and detailed information in newspapers would provide an opportunity for news print media to improve public health programs and public perception about the impact of motor-vehicle crashes on safety for all.     

Tracking the prevalence of rollover protective structures on U.S. farm tractors: 1993, 2001, and 2004

Problem

Between 1992 and 2005, 1412 workers on farms died from tractor overturns. A Rollover Protective Structure (ROPS) is a proven intervention to reduce overturn deaths. However, farm characteristics that are associated with the adoption of ROPS are not well understood.

Methods

ROPS prevalence statistics were derived from National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) surveys that tracked ROPS use on farms. Data were from the years 1993, 2001, and 2004.

Results

In 1993, 38% of tractors were equipped with ROPS. This increased to 51% by 2004. ROPS prevalence rates were higher on farms in the Southern region of the United States, on farms where the operator was 25-34 years old, and on farms with $100,000 or more of farm sales. Low ROPS prevalence rates were associated with farm operators 65 years old or older and with farms with less than $10,000 of farm product sales.

Summary

The increase in ROPS prevalence between 1993 and 2004 has not been sufficient to decrease the rate of tractor overturn deaths on farms. Incentive programs targeting older farm operators and low-income farm operations are suggested to increase ROPS use on tractors.

Impact on Industry

The study provides farm characteristics associated with low ROPS prevalence rates. The results can be used to target farms for future ROPS promotion activities.     

美国注册安全师机制

概述专业人士一般熟悉具有90多年历史的美国安全工程师学会但也许不了解美国实际上并没有安全工程师这一称谓安全工程师学会实乐上是一个职业安全从业人员的会员制学会和一般的专业学会职能基本相同在美国安全工程师“实际上称为注册安全师。注册安全师不仅是安全工程专家他们在企业安全管理保险公司损失控制等方面也有很深的造诣这也许就是用安全师而不用安全工程师名     

美国社区救灾反应队

背景:一场大地震美国社区救灾反应队的概念是由洛杉矶市消防局在1985年提出并付诸实施的。在1987年得到了全社会的重视。1987年加利福尼亚威蒂尔峡谷发生了一次大地震,此次地震证明,一场大型灾难发生后,由于受难者的人数众多、通讯联络中断和道路阻塞等原因使救灾工作变得困难,人们不得不依赖互相帮助以满足救灾的瞬时需要。这样的例子在墨西哥市的一次大地震中也能找到很好的佐证。在墨西哥的这场大地震中,没有受过训练的自发自愿者挽救了800人的生命,可是也有100人在救难中丧生。这个代价太高,经过训练完全可以避免如此高的代价。美国人开始认识到在灾难尚未来临前政府所应扮演的重要角色。首先,政府应告知     

Off-road truck-related accidents in U.S. mines

IntroductionOff-road trucks are one of the major sources of equipment-related accidents in the U.S. mining industries. A systematic analysis of all off-road truck-related accidents, injuries, and illnesses, which are reported and published by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), is expected to provide practical insights for identifying the accident patterns and trends in the available raw database. Therefore, appropriate safety management measures can be administered and implemented based on these accident patterns/trends.MethodsA hybrid clustering-classification methodology using K-means clustering and gene expression programming (GEP) is proposed for the analysis of severe and non-severe off-road truck-related injuries at U.S. mines. Using the GEP sub-model, a small subset of the 36 recorded attributes was found to be correlated to the severity level.ResultsGiven the set of specified attributes, the clustering sub-model was able to cluster the accident records into 5 distinct groups. For instance, the first cluster contained accidents related to minerals processing mills and coal preparation plants (91%). More than two-thirds of the victims in this cluster had less than 5 years of job experience. This cluster was associated with the highest percentage of severe injuries (22 severe accidents, 3.4%). Almost 50% of all accidents in this cluster occurred at stone operations. Similarly, the other four clusters were characterized to highlight important patterns that can be used to determine areas of focus for safety initiatives.ConclusionsThe identified clusters of accidents may play a vital role in the prevention of severe injuries in mining. Further research into the cluster attributes and identified patterns will be necessary to determine how these factors can be mitigated to reduce the risk of severe injuries.Practical applicationAnalyzing injury data using data mining techniques provides some insight into attributes that are associated with high accuracies for predicting injury severity.