Online news media reporting of football-related fatalities in Australia : A matter of life and death
- Authors: Fortington, Lauren , Bekker, Sheree , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 21, no. 3 (2017), p. 245-249
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Objectives: While deaths in sports settings are rare, they do occur. To develop an understanding of the sports and people most at risk, and to identify opportunities for prevention, routine and systematic data detailing the occurrence of these fatalities is required. There is currently no routine reporting of data of this nature in Australia. As there is often strong community interest in these incidents, the media offers an opportunity for surveillance. However before this can occur, understanding of the terminology used by the media is required. The aim of this study was to identify the terminology most frequently used in online Australian news media coverage of football-related deaths. Design: Retrospective review of online news media. Methods: Three databases were searched for online news media reports of people who died while participating in football (all football codes) in Australia. A descriptive analysis of terminology was undertaken to identify the common language applied. Results: Thirty-four football-related fatalities in Australia were identified between 2010-2016, via 149 separate articles. The most frequent terms identified in the media items were: Family; Club; Rugby; Football; Player; League; Died; Game; Death; Life; Loved; Hospital; Match; Young; Community; Playing; Friends; Sport; Heart; AFL [Australian Football League]. Conclusions: This study identified terminology used in reporting football-related fatalities in Australia, identifying common reference to terms relating to 'death' as metaphors and the frequent celebration of 'life.' The findings suggest that a reliance on researcher-generated terminology will be insufficient to reflect media discourse in prospective monitoring of sports deaths for surveillance.
The epistemic basis of distance running injury research : A historical perspective
- Authors: Hulme, Adam , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article , Editorial
- Relation: Journal of Sport and Health Science Vol. 5, no. 2 (2016), p. 172-175
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
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Too much information? A document analysis of sport safety resources from key organisations
- Authors: Bekker, Sheree , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: BMJ Open Vol. 6, no. 5 (2016), p. 1-8
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565907
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- Description: Objectives: The field of sport injury prevention has seen a marked increase in published research in recent years, with concomitant proliferation of lay sport safety resources, such as policies, fact sheets and posters. The aim of this study was to catalogue and categorise the number, type and topic focus of sport safety resources from a representative set of key organisations. Design: Cataloguing and qualitative document analysis of resources available from the websites of six stakeholder organisations in Australia. Setting: This study was part of a larger investigation, the National Guidance for Australian Football Partnerships and Safety (NoGAPS) project. Participants: The NoGAPS study provided the context for a purposive sampling of six organisations involved in the promotion of safety in Australian football. These partners are recognised as being highly representative of organisations at national and state level that reflect similarly in their goals around sport safety promotion in Australia. Results: The catalogue comprised 284 resources. More of the practical and less prescriptive types of resources, such as fact sheets, than formal policies were found. Resources for the prevention of physical injuries were the predominant sport safety issue addressed, with risk management, environmental issues and social behaviours comprising other categories. Duplication of resources for specific safety issues, within and across organisations, was found. Conclusions: People working within sport settings have access to a proliferation of resources, which creates a potential rivalry for sourcing of injury prevention information. Important issues that are likely to influence the uptake of safety advice by the general sporting public include the sheer number of resources available, and the overlap and duplication of resources addressing the same issues. The existence of a large number of resources from reputable organisations does not mean that they are necessarily evidence based, fully up to date or even effective in supporting sport safety behaviour change. © 2016, BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Behind every active and sporting population, there is an Epidemiologist
- Authors: Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Epidemiologist Vol. 22, no. 1 (2015), p. 3-4
- Full Text: false
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- Description: This Round Table on The Epidemiology of Fitness, Sport and Physical Recreation makes for compelling reading. Australia has long been regarded as a sports-mad nation and one that has achieved major international sporting achievements because of its long-term investment in sports medicine and sports science research. Sports spectatorship is also a major pastime in Australia, underpinning the value of using sport to promote a range of health promotion messages (e.g. in relation to tobacco, alcohol, social tolerance and most recently violence prevention). People of all ages now enjoy participating in a wide range of activities from general physical activity to fitness training to cycling to team ball sports such as Australian football to combat sports. All of these feature in papers in this issue.
Biomechanical epidemiology : A novel approach for fitness activity injury prevention
- Authors: Gray, Shannon , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Epidemiologist Vol. 22, no. 1 (2015), p. 26-28
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
- Full Text: false
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- Description: There have been limited epidemiological studies that delve into injuries sustained during fitness activities, and fewer that have explored injury prevention strategies and evaluated their success. Popular individual and team sports such as athletics, swimming, basketball and various codes of football have enjoyed extensive epidemiological attention for years, and due to the sports' popularity and public profile, will continue to be highly researched areas. Other epidemiological research has focused on sports injuries more generally, or on specific injury types such as concussion, anterior cruciate ligament injury and hamstring injury. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Exercise Recreation and Sport Survey (ERASS), fitness/gym is the second most popular recreation or sport activity participated in by Australians aged 15+ years. Considering the number of people who participate in fitness activities, and the devastating impact that injuries can have on the individual, their family and friends, and society, it is necessary to devote some research to preventing these.
Knowledge outcomes and retention of a university-based falls prevention education program (UniFPEP)
- Authors: Pascoe, Deborah , Stumieks, Daina , Close, Jacqueline , Teidemann, Anne , Lord, S , Twomey, Dara , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Focus on Health Professional Education: A Multi-disciplinary Journal Vol. 15, no. 2 (2013), p. 55-66
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Abstract: Aim: This paper reports the evaluation of a new evidence-based university curriculum aimed at addressing workforce capacity building in the allied health sector through addressing the educational needs of exercise science students in relation to falls prevention and exercise prescription for older people. Background: Exercise scientists have the capacity to play a key role in the falls injury prevention workforce. To fulfil this role and contribute to preventing injuries in older people, it is necessary that they have the appropriate knowledge and skills. Methods: Over a 13-week period in 2008, 44 third-year and 21 fourth year students from an Australian university participated in the delivery and evaluation of a falls and injury prevention curriculum. Students' knowledge of falls and falls prevention was formally assessed using a knowledge questionnaire administered before (pre), immediately after (post) and at 13 weeks following (follow-up) completion of the curriculum. Differences in knowledge between pre-, post- and follow-up assessments were determined by repeated measures analysis of variance (p<0.05). Results: Overall knowledge levels significantly increased from 46% correct (pre) to 74% correct (post, p<0.001) and were sustained at follow-up (78% correct, p<0.001). Students' self-reported ratings of confidence in delivering exercise programs for older people and falls prevention also increased significantly (p<0.001). Conclusions: Completion of a targeted falls prevention curriculum provides significant improvements in the knowledge, skills and confidence in the preparation of exercise science students as members of the allied health workforce providing exercise prescription for falls prevention.
Safe hot tap water: Knowledge, attitude and practice of plumbers, students and regulatory authorities following the introduction of plumbing regulations in NSW, Australia
- Authors: Harvey, Lara , Poulos, Roslyn , Finch, Caroline , Harvey, Jack
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Burns Vol. 37, no. 2 (2011), p. 234-239
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Regulations to restrict the temperature of domestic hot tap water were introduced in NSW in 1999. This study investigates the impact of the regulations on the knowledge, attitude and practice of workforce professionals responsible for their uptake and enforcement. Telephone surveys were conducted with a random sample of 110 plumbers and 30 regulating authorities. Surveys were recorded, transcribed and coded. Written questionnaires were completed by 151 plumbing students. The regulations are well known and supported by the majority of plumbers, students and regulators; however 75% of plumbers reported customer dissatisfaction with them. Only a minority of plumbers (11%), students (7%) and regulators (27%) correctly appreciated the impact of a decrease in water temperature in reducing burns. This study identifies the need to improve plumbers and students' understanding of the safety issues underlying the regulations in order to promote more effective advocacy for homes not currently covered by the regulations, and to provide more public education to increase acceptance of them. As only houses built or substantially renovated after June 1999 are likely to have been impacted by the current regulations, there is a need to increase the scope of the regulations to include not only new installations, but also the replacement of existing heated water units if the goal of universal protection is to be achieved. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.
- Description: Regulations to restrict the temperature of domestic hot tap water were introduced in NSW in 1999. This study investigates the impact of the regulations on the knowledge, attitude and practice of workforce professionals responsible for their uptake and enforcement. Telephone surveys were conducted with a random sample of 110 plumbers and 30 regulating authorities. Surveys were recorded, transcribed and coded. Written questionnaires were completed by 151 plumbing students. The regulations are well known and supported by the majority of plumbers, students and regulators; however 75% of plumbers reported customer dissatisfaction with them. Only a minority of plumbers (11%), students (7%) and regulators (27%) correctly appreciated the impact of a decrease in water temperature in reducing burns. This study identifies the need to improve plumbers and students' understanding of the safety issues underlying the regulations in order to promote more effective advocacy for homes not currently covered by the regulations, and to provide more public education to increase acceptance of them. As only houses built or substantially renovated after June 1999 are likely to have been impacted by the current regulations, there is a need to increase the scope of the regulations to include not only new installations, but also the replacement of existing heated water units if the goal of universal protection is to be achieved. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.
Fall Prevention in Australia: Policies and activities
- Authors: Clemson, Lindy , Finch, Caroline , Hill, Keith , Lewin, Gill
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Clinics in geriatric medicine Vol. 26, no. 4 (2010), p. 733-749
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- Description: Fall prevention recommendations and plans have been prolific in Australia since 1986 but Commonwealth recommendations have rarely been acted on from a national perspective and the funds for prevention at a national level have been limited At a state level, although increasing annually funds for fall prevention have also remained as only a low proportion of total health spending Several Australian states have developed their own strategic plans and their activities have developed separately and uniquely although referring to national guidelines This article presents a perspective of Australian fall prevention policy over time provides insights into the current focus, and draws on some specific examples of activities from the 2 most populous Australian states (New South Wales and Victoria) and from our largest geographic state Western Australia
Hospitalised hot tap water scald patients following the introduction of regulations in NSW, Australia : Who have we missed?
- Authors: Harvey, Lara , Poulos, Roslyn , Finch, Caroline , Olivier, Jake , Harvey, Jack
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Burns Vol. 36, no. 6 (2010), p. 912-919
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Scalds from hot tap water are serious injuries that are potentially preventable by restricting the temperature of hot tap water delivery. In July 1999, regulations were introduced in NSW to require that all new hot water installations deliver water at temperatures not exceeding 50 °C to sanitary fixtures. This study investigates trends in hot tap water scald injury hospitalisations following the introduction of these regulations. Hot tap water scald cases for 1999-2007 were identified from hospitalisation data for all public and private hospitals in NSW. To investigate hot tap water scald hospitalisations over time, negative binomial regression analysis was performed. There were 845 hospitalisations for hot tap water scalds in NSW over the period of the study. Hospital admission rates for hot tap water scalds decreased by an estimated 6% (3.2-8.5, 95%CI) per year since the introduction of regulations. While those most at risk were infants, toddlers and the elderly, almost a third of hospitalisations were for adults (25-64 years). The majority of hot tap water scalds were sustained at home and a further 4% occurred in a residential institute or school. The majority of scalds were severe, and a quarter required admission for longer than a week. The introduction of regulations in NSW appears to have had a positive impact on the rates of hospitalisations for hot tap water scalds; however, scalds continue to cause significant morbidity and mortality. This highlights the need for a review of the scope and implementation of the existing regulations and ongoing education of the general public to the dangers of hot tap water. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI.
Developing future injury prevention research leaders - in support of 'mentoring'
- Authors: Finch, Caroline , Poulos, Roslyn
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health Vol. 32, no. 6 (Dec 2008), p. 578-579
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- Description: C1
Do inadequacies in ICD-10-AM activity coded data lead to underestimates of the population frequency of sports/leisure injuries?
- Authors: Finch, Caroline , Boufous, Soufiane
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Injury Prevention Vol. 14, no. 3 (Jun 2008), p. 202-204
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Aims: To assess the use of the International Classification of Diseases Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) activity sub-codes for identifying sports/leisure injury hospitalizations and the impact of missing codes on population incidence estimates. Methods: Injury-related hospital separations in New South Wales, Australia, for the period 2003-04 were examined with sports/leisure cases identified by the ICD-10-AM activity codes. Results: Over 30% of all injury hospitalizations had either a missing or unspecified activity code. Among cases with valid activity codes, 13.9% of all injury hospitalizations were associated with sports/leisure. When adjusted for underreporting associated with undefined or missing activity codes, sports/leisure injuries accounted for up to 20% of injury hospitalizations. Conclusion: Defining sports/leisure injury cases on the basis of activity codes is likely to lead to an underestimate of their contribution to the overall injury burden. Improvements need to be made to the completeness of activity coding of hospitalization data.
- Description: C1
Area socioeconomic status and childhood injury morbidity in New South Wales, Australia
- Authors: Poulos, Roslyn , Hayen, Andrew , Finch, Caroline , Zwi, Anthony
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Injury Prevention Vol. 13, no. 5 (Oct 2007), p. 322-327
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Objective: To explore the relationship between child injury morbidity and socioeconomic status. Design: A cross-sectional analysis of routinely collected hospital separation data for unintentional injury for the period 1999/2000-2004/2005. Setting: All statistical local areas of New South Wales (NSW), Australia Subjects: 110 549 unintentional injury-related hospital separations for NSW children aged 0-14 years. Main outcome measure: Adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for hospital separations for unintentional injury (for all injury and by individual injury mechanisms) by quintile of socioeconomic disadvantage for children aged 0-14 years. Results: There was no clear relationship between socioeconomic status and injury when all injury mechanisms were combined. However, children in the more disadvantaged quintiles were more likely to be hospitalized than children in the least disadvantaged quintile for the following injury mechanisms: motor cycle ( point estimates for IRRs across the socioeconomic status quintiles ranged from 2.95 to 4.02 relative to the least disadvantaged quintile), motor-vehicle occupant (IRR range 1.33-2.27), pedestrian (IRR range 1.43-2.54 for ages 0-4 years), pedal cyclist ( IRR range 1.30-1.50), fire and burns ( IRR range 1.37-2.00), and poisoning (IRR range 1.32-1.91). Similarly, hospital separation rates for foreign body, other transport, and pedestrian (aged 5-9 years) injuries were also greater, but the differences were not statistically significant across all quintiles. These injury mechanisms accounted for about 25% of the hospital separations. Conclusions: The relationship between relative socioeconomic disadvantage and injury risk in NSW children is strongest for transport-related injuries, fires and burns, and poisoning. Interventions that address these specific injury mechanisms may help to reduce the disparity between high and lower socioeconomic groups.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003005883
Influence of environmental and ground conditions on injury risk in rugby league
- Authors: Gabbett, Tim , Minbashian, Amirali , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 10, no. 4 (2007), p. 211-218
- Full Text: false
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- Description: While the theoretical basis for a relationship between ground and environmental conditions and injury in rugby league is compelling, corroborative research is far from substantive. This study investigated the relationship between environmental and ground conditions and injury risk in 156 semi-professional rugby league players. Injuries were prospectively recorded from 157 training sessions and 137 competitive matches played over two consecutive competitive seasons. Daily weather variables (maximum and minimum temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall) were recorded, while ground conditions were subjectively rated as heavy, slippery, firm, or hard. Regression analysis was conducted to examine the independent effects of the environmental variables, ground condition, session type (training, match), and the interaction between ground condition and session type on injury. Higher temperatures, greater humidity, and greater levels of rainfall were all associated (p < .05) with softer ground conditions. A higher 365-day rainfall was associated with fewer injuries. Both the number of injuries and injury rate were higher in matches than in training sessions and when ground conditions were harder. For both number of injuries and injury rate, there was a statistically significant interaction between ground condition and session type, with harder ground conditions resulting in a higher injury rate in matches, but not training sessions. In conclusion, in rugby league, ground conditions do not influence training injuries, however, both harder ground conditions and less rainfall are associated with a greater number of match injuries. © 2007 Sports Medicine Australia.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003005871
Knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of squash venue operators relating to use of protective eyewear
- Authors: Eime, Rochelle , Finch, Caroline , Owen, Neville , Gifford, Sandra , Vear, Paul
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion Vol. 11, no. 1 (2004), p. 47-53
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Sports venues are in a position to potentially influence the safety practices of their patrons. This study examined the knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of venue operators that could influence the use of protective eyewear by squash players. A 50% random sample of all private and public squash venues affiliated with the Victorian Squash Federation in metropolitan Melbourne was selected. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 15 squash venue operators during August 2001. Interviews were transcribed and content and thematic analyses were performed. The content of the interviews covered five topics: (1) overall injury risk perception, (2) eye injury occurrence, (3) knowledge, behaviors, attitudes and beliefs associated with protective eyewear, (4) compulsory protective eyewear and (5) availability of protective eyewear at venues. Venue operators were mainly concerned with the severe nature of eye injuries, rather than the relatively low incidence of these injuries. Some venue operators believed that players should wear any eyewear, rather than none at all, and believed that more players should use protective eyewear. Generally, they did not believe that players with higher levels of experience and expertise needed to wear protective eyewear when playing. Only six venues had at least one type of eyewear available for players to hire or borrow or to purchase. Operators expressed a desire to be informed about correct protective eyewear. Appropriate protective eyewear is not readily available at squash venues. Better-informed venue operators may be more likely to provide suitable protective eyewear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Injury Control & Safety Promotion is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Description: 2003001113