An investigation of supervisory practices for improving occupational health and safety behaviour in construction teams: a cross-level experimental analysis. Construction workers, comprising 8% of the Australian workforce, are a high risk group for occupational fatality, injury and disease. Almost 10% of all injury and death claims in Australia are attributed to construction, creating a significant social and economic burden. The research addresses the previously neglected issue of how first-line ....An investigation of supervisory practices for improving occupational health and safety behaviour in construction teams: a cross-level experimental analysis. Construction workers, comprising 8% of the Australian workforce, are a high risk group for occupational fatality, injury and disease. Almost 10% of all injury and death claims in Australia are attributed to construction, creating a significant social and economic burden. The research addresses the previously neglected issue of how first-line supervisors shape subordinates' safety behaviour. The research makes a significant contribution by identifying and encouraging supervisory behaviours that: (i) create strong, positive safety climates in sub-contracted work crews; (ii) support the translation of organizational OHS policies/procedures into safe practices; and (iii) improve the OHS performance of the construction industry.Read moreRead less
Improving child safety in cars. This study aims to reduce the number of children killed and injured as passengers in car crashes. These deaths and injuries currently impose huge social and emotional costs on the community and the families involved. Any injury will compromise child health and development, and many result in temporary or long-term disability and care needs. From an economic viewpoint alone, child passenger fatalities and injuries have been conservatively estimated to cost in ex ....Improving child safety in cars. This study aims to reduce the number of children killed and injured as passengers in car crashes. These deaths and injuries currently impose huge social and emotional costs on the community and the families involved. Any injury will compromise child health and development, and many result in temporary or long-term disability and care needs. From an economic viewpoint alone, child passenger fatalities and injuries have been conservatively estimated to cost in excess of $400 million per year. Thus, this research will contribute to both social and economic savings and contribute to better health outcomes for the nation's childrenRead moreRead less
Safety in the Heavy Vehicle Industry: A Collaborative Response. The management and regulation of heavy vehicles, particularly in relation to safety, is recognised as an urgent issue at all levels of government across Australia. In the absence of research that identifies the key determinants of heavy vehicle crashes, countermeasures will continue to be based on anecdote. The proposed study will determine the role key risk factors, namely scheduling and sleep-related factors, play in heavy vehicl ....Safety in the Heavy Vehicle Industry: A Collaborative Response. The management and regulation of heavy vehicles, particularly in relation to safety, is recognised as an urgent issue at all levels of government across Australia. In the absence of research that identifies the key determinants of heavy vehicle crashes, countermeasures will continue to be based on anecdote. The proposed study will determine the role key risk factors, namely scheduling and sleep-related factors, play in heavy vehicle crashes and will identify cost-effective strategies to reduce the growing economic burden associated with these crashes.Read moreRead less
Developing and Enhancing the Quality of National Injury-Related Hospital Morbidity Data. The annual direct cost of treatment of injuries is estimated to be $2.6 billion across health sectors and $1.6 billion for hospitals alone. Quality data on the circumstances surrounding hospitalised injuries are vital for determining injury risk factors, allocating resources appropriately, and evaluating injury prevention strategies. This research firstly assesses the specificity of coded data for external ....Developing and Enhancing the Quality of National Injury-Related Hospital Morbidity Data. The annual direct cost of treatment of injuries is estimated to be $2.6 billion across health sectors and $1.6 billion for hospitals alone. Quality data on the circumstances surrounding hospitalised injuries are vital for determining injury risk factors, allocating resources appropriately, and evaluating injury prevention strategies. This research firstly assesses the specificity of coded data for external causes of injury and identifies the reasons for a lack of quality in coded data. Based on these findings, a targeted educational program will be implemented for clinicians, coders, and injury researchers, to ultimately enhance the quality of national injury-related hospital morbidity data.Read moreRead less
Improving Road Safety and Driver Security: The Case of High Risk Fleet (Taxi) Drivers in Australia. Road crashes constitute a major cause of death and injury in Australia and taxis have a 22 times higher crash rate compared to private passenger vehicles. In addition to their high crash risks, 1/3 of all taxi drivers have experienced physical assaults. This innovative study will examine the circumstances that contribute toward taxi crashes and assaults on drivers and more importantly, it will des ....Improving Road Safety and Driver Security: The Case of High Risk Fleet (Taxi) Drivers in Australia. Road crashes constitute a major cause of death and injury in Australia and taxis have a 22 times higher crash rate compared to private passenger vehicles. In addition to their high crash risks, 1/3 of all taxi drivers have experienced physical assaults. This innovative study will examine the circumstances that contribute toward taxi crashes and assaults on drivers and more importantly, it will design, implement and evaluate a program of countermeasures to improve the safety and security of taxi drivers, which will contribute significantly toward reducing the truma related to road crashes in Australia and assaults on public transport drivers.Read moreRead less
Improving the measurement and surveillance of child abuse in Queensland. Estimates of the prevalence of child abuse suggest 10-20% of children are affected, with financial costs to the community around $5 billion annually, and extensive health and social consequences. Despite these enormous costs, research into risk factors and prevalence of child abuse has been hampered by poorly validated statistics. The use of routine hospital data for the identification of child abuse cases offers an effici ....Improving the measurement and surveillance of child abuse in Queensland. Estimates of the prevalence of child abuse suggest 10-20% of children are affected, with financial costs to the community around $5 billion annually, and extensive health and social consequences. Despite these enormous costs, research into risk factors and prevalence of child abuse has been hampered by poorly validated statistics. The use of routine hospital data for the identification of child abuse cases offers an efficient nationally standardised data source to improve the precision of child protection departmental responses through routine monitoring and audits of linked health and child protection data. Improvement of data will inform identification, intervention and prevention strategies.Read moreRead less
Pedal and motor cycle helmet performance study. Cycling is a form of recreation and transport. Both pedal and motor cyclists are exposed to risks of head and neck injury. These injuries occur in young people and can have substantial health and economic impacts on the individuals and society. It is believed that injury rates can be reduced and an active lifestyle encouraged by improving helmet performance and understanding factors that lead to non-use. As helmet use is mandatory it is importa ....Pedal and motor cycle helmet performance study. Cycling is a form of recreation and transport. Both pedal and motor cyclists are exposed to risks of head and neck injury. These injuries occur in young people and can have substantial health and economic impacts on the individuals and society. It is believed that injury rates can be reduced and an active lifestyle encouraged by improving helmet performance and understanding factors that lead to non-use. As helmet use is mandatory it is important that Australians are provided with optimal helmets. The specification of product standards is also relevant for international trade agreements. Read moreRead less
Optimising the Utility of Injury Surveillance Systems for Injury Prevention in Active Populations. Promotion of physical activity is a key national health priority and a major focus for the Australian Defence Force to achieve and maintain operational fitness. Unfortunately, these goals are associated with the negative effects of increased injury occurrence and substantial related costs. Civilian and military injury surveillance systems inform injury prevention priorities and interventions but re ....Optimising the Utility of Injury Surveillance Systems for Injury Prevention in Active Populations. Promotion of physical activity is a key national health priority and a major focus for the Australian Defence Force to achieve and maintain operational fitness. Unfortunately, these goals are associated with the negative effects of increased injury occurrence and substantial related costs. Civilian and military injury surveillance systems inform injury prevention priorities and interventions but research is required to maximise their performance and utility. The project aims to 1) determine the extent to which current systems meet user requirements 2) assess utility and reliability of these systems specifically for active populations and 3) develop recommendations for future systems development and improved user application.Read moreRead less
Enhancing employee safety in response to workplace violence. International and national trends indicate that workplace violence is a significant growing problem. Poorly managed, victims can suffer physical and psychological trauma, and employers risk increases in workers compensation claims, insurance premiums, employee turnover, sick leave and low morale. There is a dearth of research into the effectiveness of training employees to predict, control and defuse aggressive incidents, yet this is a ....Enhancing employee safety in response to workplace violence. International and national trends indicate that workplace violence is a significant growing problem. Poorly managed, victims can suffer physical and psychological trauma, and employers risk increases in workers compensation claims, insurance premiums, employee turnover, sick leave and low morale. There is a dearth of research into the effectiveness of training employees to predict, control and defuse aggressive incidents, yet this is a significant priority for many industries. This project will develop and evaluate a new best practice aggression minimisation training program with 200 mental health employees by an RCT assessing gains in safety, knowledge, skills and confidence in managing violence.Read moreRead less
Hazard Perception and Cognitive Ageing in Older Drivers: Investigation and Development. Older road users have high fatal crash rates that cost the Australian economy $500 million each year. However, driving cessation is associated with depression and reduced social participation among older adults. The present study will benefit older road users and the wider community by identifying which traffic hazards pose the greatest difficulty for older drivers and providing information that may lead to a ....Hazard Perception and Cognitive Ageing in Older Drivers: Investigation and Development. Older road users have high fatal crash rates that cost the Australian economy $500 million each year. However, driving cessation is associated with depression and reduced social participation among older adults. The present study will benefit older road users and the wider community by identifying which traffic hazards pose the greatest difficulty for older drivers and providing information that may lead to adaptation of roads, and vehicles to reduce crash risk among older Australians. This will reduce injury and healthcare costs and allow older Australians to maintain higher levels of social participation.Read moreRead less