How comparable are road traffic crash cases in hospital admissions data and police records? An examination of data linkage rates
- Authors: Lujic, Sanja , Finch, Caroline , Boufous, Soufiane , Hayen, Andrew , Dunsmuir, William
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian And New Zealand Journal Of Public Health Vol. 32, no. 1 (2008), p. 28-33
- Relation: Open Access
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: OBJECTIVES: An assessment of linked data was used to investigate the scope and the extent to which hospitalisations data and police crash records represent road crashes in New South Wales (NSW). METHODS: Hospital separation records for the period 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001, inclusive, were linked to police crash casualty records for the same period using probabilistic record linkage techniques. Multivariable logistic regression techniques were used to identify factors independently associated with the probability of record linkage. RESULTS: Of 17,552 road transport-related hospital records, 45.1% matched to police crash casualty records. When the analysis was restricted to road traffic crashes, 69.2% of the 9,178 records had a matching police crash casualty record. Multivariable analysis found the most significant factors contributing to the likelihood of linkage to be road user type, payment status and principal diagnosis of injury variables. Motor vehicle controllers, cases entitled to financial compensation and cases with a principal diagnosis of injury were significantly more likely to be linked than all other cases. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that researchers and policy makers should be cautious when examining traffic crashes based on a separate analysis of the hospitalisations data and police crash records. This is particularly true for crashes involving pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, and those resulting in less severe injuries. IMPLICATIONS: The findings have implications for use of both police crash records and hospital records in informing the development of strategies designed to prevent road trauma in the community.
- Description: 2003006566
Observations of caregiver supervision of children at beaches : Identification of factors associated with high supervision
- Authors: Petrass, Lauren , Blitvich, Jennifer , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Injury Prevention Vol. 17, no. 4 (2011), p. 244-249
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565904
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective: To identify independent factors associated with caregiver supervision levels at beaches. Methods: Children (aged 1-14 years) engaged in beach play and their caregivers were observed at Australian beaches during September-April, 2008/09. Caregiver, child, and environmental factor data were collected and recorded on a validated observation instrument. The main outcome of interest was a continuous measure of supervision. After adjusting for potential clustering by beach/state, multivariable linear regression was used to identify independent factors associated with caregiver supervision. Results: Four independent predictors of supervision and one interaction effect (child age by the caregiver and child position on beach) were identified. Caregivers who were supervising from a different position to where the child was playing were less likely to provide high supervision, as were older caregivers (>35 years) compared to younger caregivers (≤34 years). Compared to children playing alone, children playing with one, or two or more others were less likely to receive high supervision, and children aged 1-4 years were likely to receive higher supervision than older children. Conclusion: This study provides new knowledge about underlying factors associated with the level of caregiver supervision in beach settings. Future studies should continue to explore independent predictors of supervision so that effective programmes, which focus on caregiver supervision, can be targeted to address poor supervision practices.
A critical evaluation of the Australian accident classification standard
- Authors: Viner, D. , Harvey, Jack , Borys, David
- Date: 2003
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Safety in Australia Vol. 25, no. 2 (2003), p. 27-39
- Full Text: false
- Description: The researchers undertook a study involving post-graduate occupational health and safety students at the University of Ballarat designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Australian standard for classifying accidents. The results showed that the classification scheme has significant limitations which may impact upon the setting of prevention priorities at the national, state, industry and organisational levels of the system for risk control.
- Description: C3
- Description: 2003002690
Implementing injury surveillance systems alongside injury prevention programs: evaluation of an online surveillance system in a community setting
- Authors: Ekegren, Christina , Donaldson, Alex , Gabbe, Belinda , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Injury Epidemiology Vol. 1, no. 1 (2014), p. 1-15
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565900
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058737
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565907
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: BACKGROUND:Previous research aimed at improving injury surveillance standards has focused mainly on issues of data quality rather than upon the implementation of surveillance systems. There are numerous settings where injury surveillance is not mandatory and having a better understanding of the barriers to conducting injury surveillance would lead to improved implementation strategies. One such setting is community sport, where a lack of available epidemiological data has impaired efforts to reduce injury. This study aimed to i) evaluate use of an injury surveillance system following delivery of an implementation strategy; and ii) investigate factors influencing the implementation of the system in community sports clubs. METHODS:A total of 78 clubs were targeted for implementation of an online injury surveillance system (approximately 4000 athletes) in five community Australian football leagues concurrently enrolled in a pragmatic trial of an injury prevention program called FootyFirst. System implementation was evaluated quantitatively, using the RE-AIM framework, and qualitatively, via semi-structured interviews with targeted-users. RESULTS:Across the 78 clubs, there was 69% reach, 44% adoption, 23% implementation and 9% maintenance. Reach and adoption were highest in those leagues receiving concurrent support for the delivery of FootyFirst. Targeted-users identified several barriers and facilitators to implementation including personal (e.g. belief in the importance of injury surveillance), socio-contextual (e.g. understaffing and athlete underreporting) and systems factors (e.g. the time taken to upload injury data into the online system). CONCLUSIONS:The injury surveillance system was implemented and maintained by a small proportion of clubs. Outcomes were best in those leagues receiving concurrent support for the delivery of FootyFirst, suggesting that engagement with personnel at all levels can enhance uptake of surveillance systems. Interview findings suggest that increased uptake could also be achieved by educating club personnel on the importance of recording injuries, developing clearer injury surveillance guidelines, increasing club staffing and better remunerating those who conduct surveillance, as well as offering flexible surveillance systems in a range of accessible formats. By increasing the usage of surveillance systems, data will better represent the target population and increase our understanding of the injury problem, and how to prevent it, in specific settings.
Near miss experiences of transport and recreational cyclists in New South Wales, Australia. Findings from a prospective cohort study
- Authors: Poulos, Roslyn , Hatfield, Julie , Rissel, Chris , Flack, Lloyd , Shaw, Louise , Grzebieta, Raphael , McIntosh, Andrew
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Accident Analysis and Prevention Vol. 101, no. (2017), p. 143-153
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper investigates events in which cyclists perceive a cycling crash is narrowly avoided (henceforth, a near miss). A cohort of 2038 adult transport and recreational cyclists from New South Wales (Australia) provided self-reported prospectively collected data from cycling diaries to allow the calculation of an exposure-based rate of near misses and investigation of near miss circumstances. During 25,971 days of cycling, 3437 near misses were reported. For a given time cycling, cyclists who rode mainly for transport (compared with those who rode mainly for recreation), and cyclists with less experience (compared to those with more experience) were more likely to report a near miss; older cyclists (60+ years) were less likely to report a near miss than younger cyclists (25-59 years). Where type of near miss was recorded, 72.0% involved motor vehicles, 10.9% involved pedestrians and 6.9% involved other cyclists. Results indicate some similarities between near misses and crashes reported by this cohort during the same reporting period. A bias toward reporting near misses with motor Vehicles was suggested, which likely reflects cyclists' perceptions that crashes involving motor vehicles are particularly serious, and highlights their impact on perceived safety. Given the relative rarity of crashes, and the limited breadth and depth of administrative data, collection of near miss data may contribute to our understanding of cycling safety by increasing the volume and detail of information available for analysis. Addressing the causes of near misses may offer an opportunity to improve both perceived and actual safety for cyclists. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The kids are alright : outcome of a safety programme for addressing childhood injury in Australia
- Authors: Peck, Blake , Terry, Daniel
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: European Journal of Investigation in Health Psychology and Education Vol. 11, no. 2 (Jun 2021), p. 546-556
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- Description: Globally, injuries are the leading cause of death and represent the highest burden of ongoing disease amongst children 1–16 years of age. Increasingly, prevention programmes are recognising a growing need for intervention strategies that target children. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of the SeeMore Safety Programme, designed to teach children (4–6 years of age) how to make conscious decisions about their own capabilities related to safety and how to manage risk. This retrospective study examined de-identified pre- and post-programme data from a sample of 1027 4 to 6-year-old pre-school children over the four-year period who participated in the SeeMore Safety Programme. Results show a significant improvement in each of the post-test scores and when compared to the pre-test scores (p < 0.001). Children from rural areas, as well as those from areas of greater disadvantage, also showed significant improvement in their pre- and post-test scores (p < 0.001). Overall, the findings highlight that the SeeMore Safety Programme over the four-year period demonstrates an increase in the children’s capacity to recognise and identify danger and safety amongst all children, offering great promise for reducing the burden of injury on children, their families and society.