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INJURY RISK MANAGEMENT

RESEARCH CENTREA

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NSW INJURY RISK MANAGEMENT

RESEARCH CENTRE

DIRECTOR'S FOREWORD 1

BACKGROUND 3

IRMRC ORGANISATIONAL CHART 4

IRMRC STAFF 5

BUILDING CAPACITY IN RESEARCH 6

IRMRC MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES 8

BOARD OF MANAGEMENT 8

QUARTERLY REVIEW COMMITTEE 8

RESEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE 9

DATA LINKAGE PROJECT ADVISORY COMMITTEE 9

CENTRE ACTIVITIES 10

DATA SYSTEMS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS 10

EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INJURY SURVEILLANCE 12

ROAD SAFETY 15

SPORTS AND RECREATIONAL INJURY 22

WORK-RELATED INJURY 29

TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING 33

TEACHING AND SEMINAR 34

TRANSLATING RESEARCH INTO POLICY AND PRACTICE 35

Government and Policy Forums Attended 35

Invited Presentation at Policy Forums 35

Staff Membership of Committees, Panels and Working Parties 36

Letters/Editorials/Other Articles 37

LIST OF MAJOR COLLABORATORS 38

VISITORS TO THE CENTRES 39

PUBLICATIONS 40

PEER-REVIEW JOURNAL PAPERS 40

RESEARCH REPORTS 40

CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS 41

PRESENTATIONS 42

CONFERENCES 42

OTHER PRESENTATIONS 44

LECTURES 44

AWARDS 45Adv

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ISSN 0-9580633-5-4

Published by: NSW INJURY RISK MANAGEMENT RESEARCH CENTREUNSW, SYDNEY NSW 2052, AUSTRALIATelephone: +61 (2) 9385 4207 Facsimile: +61 (2) 9385 6040 http://www.irmrc.unsw.edu.au

Design and Production: Lawton Design pty ltd

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It is becoming increasingly apparent thatconducting high quality research, alone, is notsufficient to ensure large scale injuryprevention gains. Whilst leading-edgeresearch, such as that conducted by the NSWInjury Risk Management Research Centre in2005, is critical to inform prevention efforts, itis also necessary that such research is activelytranslated into safety policy andimplementation efforts by practitioners.

In 2005, the IRMRC maintained its majorefforts in data mining and injury surveillanceof the State's injury data sources. Through itsstrong relationships with its funding partners,it is uniquely placed to provide an evidenceprovision service to the NSW government andthe broader injury prevention community. Wehave largely focussed on two major areas ofconcern - understanding road crashes betterand also identifying factors associated withfalls in older people. We have developeddata linkage approaches that now mean thatNSW has a valuable source of linked policecrash records and hospitalisations for roadcrashes that occur throughout the State. Wehave also developed key indicators againstwhich the NSW Falls Policy can be evaluated.A further example is our work on the cost ofwork related injuries and illness for the NSWWorkCover Authority.

The Centre's data informing activities, such asthese, directly feed into policy developmentprocesses because they are critical as the basisof informed policy decision making. TheCentre's relationship with governmentagencies is a two way process and we havealso engaged the relevant bodies in our workby including them in our project advisorycommittees, alongside other stakeholders andresearch experts.

Other research conducted by the Centre staffhas been aimed at understanding determinantsof safety or, in some cases, risk takingbehaviours. Most notable have been ourstudies into fatigue issues in the truckingindustry, young driver attitudes andbehaviours, risk factors for injury in cricketersfast bowlers and safety performance measuresin the mining industry. This knowledge isnecessary to inform the development ofeffective implementation strategies for safety.

A major initiative in 2005, was the bringingtogether of researchers and policy makers tocontribute to futures planning for injuryprevention, as part of a larger planningprocess undertaken by NSW Health. TheIRMRC hosted a discussion forum at theUniversity of New South Wales andsubsequently wrote a background paper forinclusion in the NSW Health Futures PlanningDocumentation.

Our policy-informing efforts extended evenfurther to an IRMRC submission to theProductivity Commission's forum on theReview of the Australian Consumer ProductSafety System and two invited presentations at

the NSW Child and Adolescent InjuryPrevention Symposium held at the NSWParliament House in November. Led by theIRMRC, this symposium culminated in aconsensus resolution that "Trauma is the mostsignificant health issue affecting the lifeexpectancy, physical wellbeing and quality oflife of all children/adolescents. Ourchildren/adolescents have a fundamental rightnot be exposed to risks that could kill orseriously maim them. Furthermore, allAustralians have a duty of care to protect ourchildren from fatal harm, irrespective of itsintent. It's about time the Government sparedno expense to prevent trauma as a matter ofpriority."

Partnerships with other agencies are alsoimportant for injury prevention researchtranslation. The Centre was pleased to sign ajoint Memorandum of Understanding withYouthsafe, an advocacy and injury preventionbody focussing on adolescent and youthinjury, to ensure that our two groups wouldwork closely together. As with any researchendeavour, our partnerships with researchcollaborators from both within the Universityof New South Wales and other universities,has also ensured high quality research outputsin 2005.

We have invested significant amounts of ourtime and effort in disseminating the results ofour research throughout the year. A largenumber of IRMRC staff were keynote orinvited speakers at international scientificmeetings such as the First World Congress onSports Injury Prevention (in Oslo, Norway),the Transportation Research Board (inWashington, USA), the InternationalConference on Fatigue Management inTransportation Operations (in Seattle, USA), ameeting of noise experts in Utrecht(Netherlands) and the 6th Annual meeting ofthe Japanese Society for Clinical Pathways(Nigata, Japan). We have found that givingpresentations is a powerful means ofpromoting our research and its real-worldimplications and an increasing number of ourstaff have presented in a range of forumsduring 2005.

The IRMRC is moving its research activities,and dissemination of findings, towards moreof an outcome focus. Our researchpublication approach, participation andpresentation in appropriate forums,partnerships with government agencies andother key injury groups, and mentoring andtraining of young researchers will ensure thatour research continues to have maximalimpact and injury prevention benefit for all inyears to come.

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CAPACITY OF THE CENTREIn 2005, there were three seniorresearchers at the Centre, six other fulltime research staff and six part-time researchers, fifteenpostgraduate research scholars andapproximately ten casual researchassistants. NHMRC ResearchFellowships were held by all seniorresearchers and two of the otherresearch staff. In addition, the IRMRCalso hosted placements for biostatisticaltrainees and public health officers fromNSW Health. There were three fulltime equivalent administrative staff. A Research Manager was appointed in2005 to provide policy and planningsupport to the Director as well as tostreamline administrative process andimplement a comprehensive projectmanagement approach to support theresearch effort.

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The New South Wales (NSW) Injury RiskManagement Research Centre (IRMRC, TheCentre) is an independent research centre ofthe University of New South Wales (UNSW)and has strong collaborative andadministrative links with the Faculties ofScience, Medicine and Engineering. It wasestablished in 1999/2000 in a partnershipbetween UNSW, NSW Health, the MotorAccidents Authority (MAA) and the Roadsand Traffic Authority (RTA).

The IRMRC receives core funding from NSWHealth, MAA and RTA. Other researchactivities are supported by AustralianResearch Council (ARC) grants, NationalHealth and Medical Research Council(NHMRC) grants and other industry sourcesas identified in the section in the Reportentitled 'Centre Activities', beginning on page15. Some staff support is also provided byfellowships and scholarships from theNHMRC or UNSW. In 2005, the IRMRCcontinued to be the lead agency in apartnership that was awarded a $2.5 millionNHMRC Capacity Building Grant for theperiod 2005-2009

The core funding partners have significantinvestments in injury prevention in NSW:> The Injury Prevention and Policy Branch

of NSW Health is responsible fordeveloping policy and program initiativeswhich reduce the burden of death andserious injury in NSW.

> The MAA is a statutory corporation thatregulates the NSW Motor AccidentsScheme, the Compulsory Third Partypersonal injury scheme for motor vehiclesregistered in New South Wales.

> The RTA is the NSW State Governmentagency responsible for providing roadplanning, construction and maintenancesolutions for the NSW community, with anemphasis on meeting, community,environmental, regulatory and economicneeds and in so doing, for improving roadsafety through better road user behaviour,vehicles and roads to save lives andreduce injuries.

OBJECTIVES AND MISSION OF

THE CENTRE

The Centre's mission is to contribute to a"whole of government" approach toexamining injury risk in the community andto provide research services to the corefunding and other agencies concerned withinjury risk management. The Centre's coreresearch project reflect the focus of the corefunding agencies, NSW Health, MAA andRTA, whilst broader research programsupplements these areas.

The IRMRC plays a leading role in researchon injury risk, prevention and interventionthrough the:> Provision of innovative research leadership

> Building of risk management researchcapacity and the mentoring of early careerresearchers and other trainees

> Dissemination of the results of soundresearch in peer reviewed publications aswell as other mediums of communication,ranging from conference presentations andworkshops to editorial pieces for themainstream media.

> Co-ordination of relevant expertise,nationally and internationally, to developsolutions to injury risk managementproblems identified by the Centre's ownresearch, its funding partners or otherexternal agencies

> Data mining and analysis of the data setsheld securely at the Centre which include:the Inpatient Statistical Collection of NSWHealth, the NSW Traffic Accident DatabaseSystem, the MAA Claims Register andStatistical Database.

> Translation of research findings into policyand practice though involvement in policyforums and working parties, as well as thecommunication of this activity throughvarious media.

> Nurturing and development of partnershipswith government agencies and otherstakeholders.

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Director and NHMRC Principal Research

Fellow

Prof Caroline Finch - PhD, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Deputy Director and NHMRC Senior

Research Fellow

Associate Prof Ann Williamson - PhD, BSc

(Hons)

Research Manager and Research Officer

Mary Potter Forbes - MCom, BHA, RN

NHMRC RESEARCH FELLOWS

NHMRC Capacity Building Grant Research

Fellow

Dr Julie Hatfield - PhD, BA (Hons)

Dr Shauna Sherker - PhD, MSc, BSc (Jan-

Aug)

NHMRC Public Health (Australia)

Fellowship

Dr Shauna Sherker - PhD, MSc, BSc (Aug

2005 onwards)

RESEARCH FELLOWS

Dr Andrew Hayen - PhD, MBiostat, BA

(Hons)

Annaliese Dowling - MSc(Hons), BSc(Hons)

Dr Susanne Murphy - PhD, BSc (Hons)

Dr Elizabeth Roediger - PhD, BSc (Hons)

ADJUNCT SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW

Dr John Orchard - FASCP, FACSM, FASMF,

PhD, MD, MBBS, BA

VISITING RESEARCH FELLOW

Helen Moore - Grad Dip App Epi, MPH, BSc

(Hons)

SENIOR RESEARCH OFFICERS

Soufiane Boufous - MPH (Hons), BH (Hons)

Rena Friswell - BA (Hons)

RESEARCH ASSISTANTS/OFFICERS

Rebecca Dennis - B HlthSci (Hons)

Wei Du - MBBS, MSc & Tech, MPH

Ralston Fernandes - BSc (Hons)

Maria Romiti - BSpSc

Marcia Schmertmann - MPH, BSc

Naomi Dunn - BSc (Hons)

Rebecca Mitchell - BA (Psych), MA (Psych),

MOHS

PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICERS

Dr Andrew Marich - MBBS, BSc (Hons)

Melissa Irwin - MPH, B.App.Sc

(Physiotherapy)

BIOSTATISTICAL TRAINEE

Sanja Lujic - MStat, BSc (Hons)

Dr Robin Turner - PhD, BSc (Hons)

CASUAL RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

Timothy Chamberlain

Marcus Haines

Linda Hayes

Eugene Queh

Danny Redrup

Irina Roman

Daniel Scherly

Patrick Shun

Justin Shute

Alex Whiteside

Adam Zinman

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Administration and Finance Manager - Gina

Lam - MBA, BA (Hons)

Executive Assistant to the Director - Henny

Oentojo - MBA, B.Bus

Administrative Officer - Patricia Villaroel -

B.Music, TAFE Music Cert II

Finance Officer - Teresa Wong - B.Acc

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h IRMRC is committed to furthering capacity in injury risk management research. To this end,

we supervised and mentored 15 postgraduate research students in 2005. All UNSW-based

IRMRC students are formally enrolled in other UNSW schools for administrative purposes

PhD STUDENTS

Troy BakerDegree enrolled: PhDSchool of enrolment: School of PsychologyMain supervisor: A/Prof Ann WilliamsonProject/thesis title: Error in skilledbehaviour

Soufiane BoufousDegree enrolled: PhDSchool of enrolment: School of PublicHealth and Community MedicineMain supervisor: Prof Caroline FinchCo-supervisor: A/Prof Stephen Lord (Princeof Wales Medical Research Institute)Project/thesis title: Reporting injury onolder people: Epidemiological profile andknowledge gains from data linkage

Rebecca Dennis Degree enrolled: PhDSchool of enrolment: School of SafetyScienceMain supervisor: Prof Caroline FinchCo-supervisors: Dr Andrew McIntosh(School of Safety Science, UNSW), ProfBruce Elliott (UWA)Project/thesis title: Risk factors forrepetitive microtrauma injury to adolescentand adult cricket fast bowlers

Wei DuDegree enrolled: PhDSchool of enrolment: School of PublicHealth and Community MedicineMain supervisor: Prof Caroline FinchCo-supervisor: Dr Julie HatfieldProject/Thesis title: Population basedevaluation of the role of child restraints inpreventing child road trauma

Ralston Fernandes Degree enrolled: PhDSchool of enrolment: School of PsychologyMain supervisor: Dr Julie HatfieldCo-supervisor: Dr Soames Job (RTA)Project/thesis title: Risk taking attitudes ofyoung NSW drivers

Rena FriswellDegree enrolled: PhDSchool of enrolment: School of PublicHealth and Community MedicineMain supervisor: A/Prof Ann WilliamsonCo-supervisor: A/Prof Deborah Black(School of Public Health and CommunityMedicine, UNSW)Project/thesis title: Driver Fatigue

Lara HarveyDegree enrolled: PhDSchool of enrolment: School of PublicHealth and Community MedicineMain supervisor: Prof Caroline FinchCo-supervisor: Dr Shauna SherkerProject/Thesis title: The epidemiology andprevention of burns and scalds in NSW

Rebecca MitchellDegree enrolled: PhDSchool of enrolment: School of PublicHealth and Community MedicineMain supervisor: Prof Caroline FinchCo-supervisor: Dr Andrew Hayen, Prof RodMcClure (Griffith University), Dr TimDriscoll (University of Sydney)Project/Thesis title: Injury surveillance inNSW: systematic review and futureopportunities

Basema SaddikDegree enrolled: PhDSchool of enrolment: School of PublicHealth and Community MedicineMain supervisor: A/Prof Ann WilliamsonCo-supervisor: A/Prof Deborah Black(School of Public Health and CommunityMedicine, UNSW)Project/Thesis title: Assessing neurotoxicityin working children in Lebanon

Marcia Schmertmann Degree enrolled: PhDSchool of enrolment: School of PublicHealth and Community MedicineMain supervisor: A/Prof Ann WilliamsonCo-supervisor: A/Prof Deborah Black(School of Public Health and CommunityMedicine, UNSW)Project/thesis title: Predictive value ofidentified environmental, socio-demographic and behavioural factors forunintentional poisonings in young children

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MASTERS STUDENTS - RESEARCH STUDENTS

Maria RomitiDegree enrolled: Master of Safety Science(Research)School of enrolment: School of SafetyScienceMain supervisor: Prof Caroline FinchCo-supervisor: Dr Andrew McIntosh(School of Safety Science, UNSW) Project/thesis title: The Junior AustralianFootball Safety Study (JAFSS)

Kiwami ToriDegree enrolled: Master of OrganisationalPsychology School of enrolment: School of PsychologyMain supervisor: A/Prof Ann WilliamsonProject/thesis title: Work satisfaction,organisational commitment andpsychological contract of temporaryemployees

John QuinnDegree enrolled: Master of OccupationalHealth and SafetySchool of enrolment: School of SafetyScienceMain supervisor: Prof Caroline FinchProject/thesis title: Hydration status andinjuries in Australian football

Katherine RaeDegree enrolled: Australian College ofSports Physicians Fellowship TrainingMain supervisor: Prof Caroline Finch Project/thesis title: Classifying sportsmedicine diagnoses: A comparison of theInternational classification of diseases 10-Australian modification (ICD-10AM) andthe Orchard sports injury classificationsystem (OSICS-8)

Louise ShawDegree enrolled: Masters of Public HealthSchool of enrolment: School of PublicHealth and Community MedicineMain supervisor: Prof Caroline FinchProject/Thesis title: Injuries in juniorcricket

MASTER STUDENTS - MINOR RESEARCH PROJECT

AUSTRALIAN COLLEGE OF SPORTS PHYSICIANS

TRAINEE (RESEARCH PROJECT)

but are supervised or co-supervised by full-time academics of the IRMRC. In 2005, IRMRC

students were enrolled in the UNSW Faculties of Science and Medicine.

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PROFESSOR ELSPETH MCLACHLAN Chair, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research, UNSW (February and May)

MR GRAEME COUCH Chair, Managing Director- Couch& Associates Pty Ltd (August and November)

PROFESSOR MIKE ARCHER Dean, Faculty of Science,UNSW

MS PAM ALBANY Manager, Injury Prevention andPolicy Branch, NSW Health

MR DAVID BOWEN General Manager, Motor AccidentsAuthority

PROFESSOR CAROLINE FINCH Director, IRMRC

MR CHRIS RISSELL Health Promotion Coordinator,Illawara Area Health (February, May and August)

DR SOAMES JOB General Manager, Road SafetyStrategy, Roads and Traffic Authority

PROFESSOR BRENDON PARKER Dean, Faculty ofEngineering, UNSW

PROFESSOR TERENCE CAMPBELL Representative of theDean, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW

The activities of the IRMRC are guided by three management committees: the Board ofManagement, the Quarterly Review Committee and the Research Advisory Committee.

BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

The Board of Management oversees the Centre's strategic directions and financial management. During 2005, the Board ofManagement comprised the following members:

Members of the Board of Management From left to right: Prof Brendon Parker (Engineering), Prof Jean Cross (SafetyScience), Prof Caroline Finch (IRMRC), Mr Graeme Couch (Chair) and Ms Pam Albany (NSW Health)

DR ANDREW HAYEN, Chair, Biostatistician, IRMRC

PROFESSOR CAROLINE FINCH, Director, IRMRC

MR KWAME ATSU, Principal Officer, Statistics -Insurance Division, Motor Accidents Authority

MR SOUFIANE BOUFOUS, Data Manager, IRMRC

MR BILL PINK, Manager Trend Analysis, Road SafetyStrategy, Roads and Traffic Authority

MR ANDREW GRAHAM, Manager Trend Analysis,Road Safety Strategy, Roads and Traffic Authority

MS PAM ALBANY, Manager, Injury Prevention andPolicy Branch, NSW Health

QUARTERLY REVIEW COMMITTEE

The Quarterly Review Committee sets policy and guidelines for the management of, and access to, the Centre's data resources.During 2005, the Committee comprised the following members:

Members of the Quarterly Review Committee From left to right: Mr Kwame Atsu (MAA), Prof CarolineFinch (IRMRC), Mr Soufiane Boufous (IRMRC)

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PROFESSOR CAROLINE FINCH Chair, Director, IRMRC

MR KWAME ATSU Principal Officer, Statistics -Insurance Division, Motor Accidents Authority (May)

MS AARTHI AYYAR Biostatisticial Trainee, IRMRC(February and May)

MR SOUFIANE BOUFOUS Data Manager, IRMRC

PROFESSOR WILLIAM DUNSMUIR School ofMathematics, UNSW

MS PAM ALBANY Manager, Injury Prevention andPolicy Branch, NSW Health

MR ANDREW GRAHAM Manager, Trend Analysis, RoadSafety Strategy, Roads and Traffic Authority

PROFESSOR MARK STEVENSON Director, InjuryPrevention and Trauma Care Program, The GeorgeInstitute for International Health

A/PROFESSOR ANN WILLIAMSON Deputy Director,IRMRC

MS SANJA LUJIC Biostatistical Trainee, IRMRC (May)

RESEARCH ADVISORY COMMITTEEThe Research Advisory Committee provides advice to the Board about the research directions of the Centre. In 2005, theCommittee comprised the following members:

Members of the Research Advisory Committee From left to right: Front Row: Prof Caroline Finch, Dr Berman Kayis, A/Prof AnnWilliamson, Dr Karen Zwi Back Row: Dr Soames Job, Prof William Dunsmuir,A/Prof Stephen Lord (Chair), Prof John Langley, Prof Jean Cross.

A/PROFESSOR STEPHEN LORD Chair, Prince of WalesMedical Research Institute, UNSW

PROFESSOR RICHARD BRYANT School of Psychology,UNSW

PROFESSOR JEAN CROSS School of Safety Science,UNSW

PROFESSOR WILLIAM DUNSMUIR School ofMathematics, UNSW

PROFESSOR CAROLINE FINCH Director, IRMRC

DR SOAMES JOB General Manager, Road SafetyStrategy, Roads and Traffic Authority

DR BERMAN KAYIS School of Mechanical andManufacturing Engineering, UNSW

PROFESSOR JOHN LANGLEY Injury PreventionResearch Unit, University of Otago, New Zealand

A/PROFESSOR ANN WILLIAMSON Deputy Director,IRMRC, UNSW

DR KAREN ZWI School of Women's and Children'sHealth, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW

DATA LINKAGE PROJECT ADVISORY COMMITTEEIn addition to the Management Committees, the IRMRC established a Project Advisory Committee for its major data project.This Project Advisory Committee provided expert advice on issues relating to data linkage of hospital admissions records andpolice crash records. In 2005, the Committee comprised the following members:

Members of the Data Linkage Project Advisory Committee From left to right: Prof William Dunsmuir, Mr Kwame Atsu, Prof Caroline Finch, MrSoufiane Boufous, Ms Aarthi Ayyar, Prof Mark Stevenson, A/Prof Ann Williamson

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DATA SYSTEMS AND STATISTICALANALYSIS

A major role of the IRMRC is to analyse and reporton population-level data relating to injuryoccurrence and injury risk management in NewSouth Wales. It does this through its own researchactivities, as well as through providing a dataservice for interested agencies.

The IRMRC provides a free "data analysis andadvice" service to its funding partners and theirapproved agencies. This service is also available toother agencies on a fee for service basis. Thisservice includes the analysis of various datasets,provision of research advice, provision of dataquality advice, review of documents, and conduct ofliterature reviews.

Information can be provided on a wide range ofissues including different mechanisms of injury (e.g.road traffic crashes, falls, violence, etc), variouspopulation groups (e.g. children, older people andthose from non-English background, etc) anddifferent locations of occurrence (e.g. on the road, athome and in the workplace, etc).

The Centre has a stringent policy on dataconfidentiality and privacy, a policy in line with thelegislative requirements, UNSW policy and thedemands of the owners of the datasets. In particular,where the information from the NSW HealthInpatient Statistical Collection is sought, access iscoordinated through the Injury Prevention andPolicy Branch of NSW Health.

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Data Systems and Statistical Analysis

The Centre has custodianship of a number ofNSW population databases, including the NSWInpatient Statistical Collection, NSW TrafficAccident Database System, MAA Claims Registerand Statistical Database and claims data fromWorkCover NSW. The Centre undertakes datamining and statistical analysis of these securedata for the core funding partners, the Centre'sown research program and as a service forapproved agencies on approved matters.

Research Streams

The other research activities of the NSW InjuryRisk Management Research Centre are organisedinto four Project Streams and cover the areas of:

Epidemiology and Injury Surveillance

Road Safety

Sport and Active Recreation Injury

Work Related Injury.

Training and Capacity Building

Not only does the Centre mentor and supervisepost-graduate research students, it also provideswork placements for NSW Health public healthand biostatistical trainees for periods of up totwelve months. These placements are quitesought after and the program is to be expanded.In 2005 there were four placements at theCentre.

Teaching and Seminars

Although the Centre's primary purpose is toconduct research, the Centre also conducts acourse in injury risk management that is offeredthrough the School of Safety Science. As thecourses are multidisciplinary in focus andinvolve lecturers from Engineering, Medicineand Science, students are attracted from a widerange of disciplines.

From time to time, the Centre also offers shortand continuing education courses on a range ofissues relevant to injury risk management. TheCentre has hosted guest speakers and isrepresented in the organising committee of the2006 Australian Injury Prevention Networkconference, to be held at UNSW. It isanticipated that the Centre will increase itsactivities in this area over the next few years.

Translating Research into Policy and

Practice

Researchers at the Centre are actively involvedin the policy development process and thetranslation of research into policy. Staffparticipated in a number of key policy forums in2005, such as the Elderly Falls Forum and theProductivity Commission's Forum on theReview of the Australian Consumer ProductSafety System. The IRMRC was the lead agencyin articulating the injury perspective for NSWHealth's Futures Planning process, commencedin 2005. In March, the Centre conducted aworkshop on Injury Futures Planning whichincluded representatives from a number of NSWgovernment agencies (RTA, MAA, WorkCover,Fair Trading and Tourism, Sport and Recreation),as well as relevant interstate agencies. An issuepaper based on the work of the forum was thenprepared and submitted to NSW Health for usein the Department's futures planning process.The Centre was also represented on the SocialDeterminants of Health Futures Planning Forum.

There were also a number of other opportunitiesin 2005 for Centre researchers to promote theinclusion of their research findings in a varietyof policy development contexts. Staff wereinvited to speak at forums as diverse as the NSWInjury Prevention Network, the NSW Child andAdolescent Injury Prevention Symposium held atthe NSW Parliament House, and the launch of aroad safety advertising campaign for youngdrivers by Bankstown Team Phoenix.

The effort to move sound research findings intopolicy and practice was furthered by thepublication of letters and editorials as well asactive membership of committee, panels,working parties within the injury preventionarea.

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EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INJURY

SURVEILLANCE

UNDERSTANDING ROAD CRASH DATA

BETTER - FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE

THE LIKELIHOOD OF HOSPITALISATION

RECORDS MATCHING POLICE CRASH

REPORTS

CENTRE INVESTIGATORS

Soufiane Boufous, Sanja Lujic (NSW HealthBiostatistical Trainee), Caroline Finch,Andrew Hayen

COLLABORATORS

William Dunsmuir (School of Mathematics,UNSW)

FUNDING

2004-2005, Core funding

SUMMARY

It has become increasingly common to linkcomplementary data sources to enhance thevalue of motor transport injury databases.The aims of the project were to examine theextent to which a linkage of hospitaldischarge data with police crash records isuseful for describing road crashes; todetermine how well "true" matched cases arecorrectly linked; and to identify factorsassociated with an increased likelihood ofbeing matched. Hospital separation recordsfor the period 1 July 2000-30 June 2001,inclusive, were linked to police crash recordsfor the same period using probabilistic recordlinkage techniques. Multivariate logisticregression techniques were used to identifyfactors independently associated with linkagerates. The most significant factorscontributing to the likelihood of linkage werefound to be occupant type (eg motor vehiclecontrollers), payment status (eg cases entitledto financial compensation) and principaldiagnosis of injury variables. Interpretation ofresultant road crash analyses of linked dataneed to take into account potential biasesassociated with differential matching ratesacross variables of interest.

ANALYSIS OF TRENDS IN HOSPITALISED

PELVIC FRACTURES IN OLDER PERSONS

IN NSW OVER THE PAST DECADE


Soufiane Boufous, Caroline Finch

COLLABORATORS

Stephen Lord (Prince of Wales MedicalResearch Institute), Jacqueline Close (Prince ofWales Medical Research Institute)

FUNDING


SUMMARY

Despite their significant health burden,epidemiological information regarding pelvicfractures is scarce. This study examined trendsin admission for pelvic fractures to acutehospitals in New South Wales, Australia,between July 1998 and June 2000. Over thisperiod, both the number of admissions andage-specific rates of admissions, for pelvicfracture among those aged 50+ aged yearswere found to have increased in both menand women. Whilst the number andproportion of transport related pelvic fracturesdeclined, those associated with falls increasedsignificantly over the 12-year-period. Falls areincreasingly becoming the single mostimportant cause of pelvic injuries in olderpeople, suggesting that preventive measuresaimed at reducing the risk of falls need to bepursued.

12

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nc

e

During 2005, the IRMRC staff wereinvolved in a range of other researchprojects across the following broadareas:

> Epidemiology and Injury Surveillance

> Road Safety

> Sports and Recreational Injury

> Work-related Injury

In this section we provide a brief summary of eachproject, including the research collaborators andfunding received during 2005.

EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INJURY EPIDEMIOLOGY RESEARCH TEAMFrom left to right: Dr Andrew Hayen, Mr Soufiane Boufous, Prof Caroline

Finch, Ms Rebecca Mitchell, Ms Melissa Irwin, Ms Robyn Turner

13

ESTIMATING THE INCIDENCE OF

HOSPITALISED INJURIOUS FALLS:

IMPACT OF VARYING CASE DEFINITIONS



FUNDING


SUMMARY

In the absence of unique personal identifiersin hospital admissions datasets, previousstudies have used different approaches toidentifying incident cases (first admissions) ofhospitalised injurious falls. These approacheshave included the exclusion of "readmissionwithin 28 days" cases, "transfers" admissionsto "non-acute hospitals" and "day only"admissions. The aim of this study was toexamine the validity, as well as the impact, ofdifferent approaches on incidence estimatesof hospitalised falls. When comparing theperformance of different approaches toidentifying first admissions, to that of the datalinkage "gold standard", the "transfer from"variable performed best in identifying firstadmissions in terms of sensitivity andspecificity. However, all the approaches haverelatively low specificity raising questionsabout their use. The introduction of a UniquePatient Identifier and the data of injury inhospital discharge datasets would provide amore accurate picture of incident cases offall-related hospitalisations.

RECORD LINKAGE: A TOOL FOR INJURY

PREVENTION RESEARCH



FUNDING


SUMMARY

Traditionally, much record linkage hasfocused on cancer research before beinggradually applied to various areas of publichealth. Application of record linkagetechniques to injury prevention research hasonly been a fairly recent development. Thestudy assessed the importance of recordlinkage for injury research and reviewedprevious applications in this area. It alsoexamined some of the specific practical andprivacy issues that present challenges to thelinkage of data for injury prevention andcontrol. Suggestions regarding steps that needto be taken to improve the quality and easeof undertaking data linkage for injuryresearch were developed.

THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HOSPITALISED

WRIST FRACTURES IN OLDER PEOPLE,

NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA



COLLABORATORS

Stephen Lord (Prince of Wales MedicalResearch Institute), Jacqueline Close (Prince ofWales Medical Research Institute); ToddGothelf (Prince of Wales Hospital); Bill Walsh(Surgical Training and Orthopaedic ResearchLaboratory, Prince of Wales Hospital)

FUNDING

2005, Core funding

SUMMARY

Wrist fractures are a common injury in olderpeople. The epidemiology and trends in wristfracture admissions to public and privateacute hospitals in New South Wales,Australia, between July 1993 and June 2003,were examined using routinely collectedhospital separations statistics. Over the studyperiod, the number of hospital separations forwrist fractures increase in both men andwomen. A significant increase in age-specificand age-standardised hospitalisation rates forwrist fractures was also observed. While themajority of wrist fractures were due to falls,the proportion of falls-related wrist fracturesdecreased significantly over time. Thisdecrease was more pronounced in males andwas accompanied by a rise in proportion ofwrist fractures resulting from high energymechanisms such as transport, violence andmachinery-related incidents. The difference inhospitalised wrist fracture rates between menand women could not be explained solely onthe basis of the role played by osteoporosis,indicating the need for more research toimprove our understanding of the underlyingfactors of this type of fracture in older people.

“The

intr

oduc

tion

of a

Uni

que

Patie

nt Id

entif

ier

and

the

date

of i

njur

y in

hos

pita

l dis

char

geda

tase

ts w

ould

pro

vide

a m

ore

accu

rate

pic

ture

of i

ncid

ent c

ases

of f

all-

rela

ted

hosp

itals

iatio

ns.”

Re

se

arc

h p

ro

jec

t str

ea

ms - E

pid

em

iolo

gy a

nd

Inju

ry S

urve

illan

ce

14

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t 2005

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arc

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ro

jec

t str

ea

ms -

Ep

ide

mio

log

y a

nd

In

jury S

urve

illa

nc

e EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INJURY

SURVEILLANCE continued

THE TRIAGE INJURY SURVEILLANCE

PROJECT


Andrew Marich (NSW Public Health OfficerTraining Program), Caroline Finch

FUNDING

2004-2005, NSW Health (Total budget: $ 78,000.Funding received in 2005: $16,513)

SUMMARY

This project developed and trialled an injurysurveillance system for use in hospital emergencydepartments. A particular focus was on theassessment of the utility of the routine collectionof narrative by triage nurses in EmergencyDepartments. Feedback from the triage injurysurveillance system was also fed back to thedevelopers of NSW Health's Public Health Real-Time Emergency Department Surveillance System,to assist in its ongoing application in the injurysetting.

INVESTIGATION OF CORONIAL DATA


Melissa Irwin (NSW Public Health OfficerTraining Program), Andrew Hayen, Caroline Finch

FUNDING

2005-2006, NSW Health (same budget as theTriage project above)

SUMMARY

Coronial data have the potential to provide a richsource of information about fatal injury. The aimsof this project were to assess the usefulness of theNational Coroners Information System, forcontributing information to the epidemiologicalprofile on injuries in the state, as well as moredetailed information about mechanism of injury.

NSW INJURY HOSPITALISATION PROFILE

CENTRE INVESTIGATORSAndrew Hayen, Rebecca MitchellFUNDING2005-2006, Core funding

SUMMARYAlmost all serious non-fatal injuries lead tohospitalisation. A review of injury hospitalisationsof NSW residents in the period of 1989-1990 to2003-04 was undertaken. The aims of this projectwere to examine the leading cause of injuryhospitalisation and to describe trends inhospitalised injury in NSW. Data analysis andwriting of the report was conducted in 2005. Thereport would be launched in 2006.

PUBLIC HEALTH AND VIOLENCE


Caroline Finch

COLLABORATORS

Anthony Zwi (School of Public Health andCommunity Medicine, UNSW), Alison Rutherford(School of Public Health and CommunityMedicine). The project was directed by Prof Zwiand his team at the School of Public Health andCommunity Medicine.

FUNDING

2004-2005, NSW Health (Total budget: $50,000.No funding received in 2005)

SUMMARY

This project explored possibilities for linking workof population health with other sectors involvedin the prevention, management and monitoring ofviolence and crime. In doing so, it describedfuture initiatives aimed at improving quality ofhealth data and recommended a future workprogram for the NSW Health Injury PolicyBranch. This involved mapping current actors,activities and gaps in violence prevention;identifying data sources, trends and gaps; andidentifying the role of the health sector inviolence prevention. Twenty-two interviews wereconducted with thirty-one key stakeholders ingovernment and non-government organisations inthe health, community, criminology, police andother sectors; nine custodians of routine datacollections managed within NSW Health werealso surveyed.

DEVELOPMENT OF FALLS INJURY RISK

PROJECTION, INDICATORS AND AN

EVALUATION PLAN


Caroline Finch, Annaliese Dowling

FUNDING

2005, NSW Health (Total budget: $87,000.Funding received in 2005: $87,000)

SUMMARY

The aim of this project was to provide falls injuryrisk projection estimates and other indicatorsagainst which NSW Health could monitor theimpact of its Falls Policy. An update of fallsresearch occurring in Australia and a five yearAustralian literature review was prepared anddisseminated. A three-year research strategyhighlighting research priorities was alsodeveloped for NSW Health. NSW Fall InjuryIndicators were developed to track the trends inthe incidence of fall injuries in people over 65years of age. These indicators have been designedto be used at the Area Health Service and Statelevels.

15

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ms - R

oa

d S

afte

y“E

arly

res

ults

of t

he s

urve

ys s

ugge

st th

at d

rive

r fa

tigue

isin

deed

a s

afet

y is

sue

in th

e lig

ht a

nd s

hort

hau

l tra

nspo

rt s

ecto

r an

dth

at w

orkp

lace

follo

w-u

p st

udie

s ar

e w

arra

nted

.”

ROAD SAFETY

FATIGUE IN THE LIGHT TRUCKING

SECTOR


Ann Williamson, Rena Friswell

COLLABORATORS

Anne-Marie Feyer (Pricewaterhouse Coopers)

FUNDING

2003-2006, Australian Research CouncilLinkage grant (funding partners: MotorAccidents Authority, National Road TransportCommission, Australian Transport SafetyBureau, the National Occupational Healthand Safety Commission) (Total budget:$285,585. Funding received in 2005:$72,436)

SUMMARY

Although there is a substantial body ofresearch investigating driver fatigue as anoccupational safety issue for long distanceheavy vehicle drivers, virtually noinformation is available about fatigueexperiences of light truck and short hauldrivers. Because light commercial vehiclescomprise about 15% of the motorised fleet inNSW and because driver fatigue is thought tobe involved in a similar proportion of lighttruck and heavy vehicle crashes, empiricaldata on the extent and causes of fatigueamong light truck drivers is sorely needed.The aims of this project were to gatherexploratory self-report data on workpractices, fatigue and other occupationalhealth and safety hazards confronting lighttruck and van drivers in NSW and to validate

these exploratory findings in the workplace. InPhase One of the project which was carriedout in 2005, light truck and van drivers andrepresentatives of companies engaged in lighttransport across NSW were surveyed. Resultsof the surveys suggest that driver fatigue isindeed a safety issue in the light and shorthaul transport sector and that workplacefollow-up studies are warranted.

RISK PERCEPTIONS, ATTITUDES AND

BEHAVIOURS REGARDING DRIVER

FATIGUE IN NSW YOUTH: THE

DEVELOPMENT OF AN EVIDENCE-BASED

DRIVER FATIGUE EDUCATIONAL

INTERVENTION STRATEGY


Julie Hatfield, Susanne Murphy

COLLABORATORS

Nadine Kasparian (Prince of Wales Hospitaland Westmead Institute for Cancer Research),RF Soames Job (Roads and Traffic Authority)

FUNDING

2004-2006, Motor Accidents Authority (Totalbudget: $33,516. Funding received in 2005:$14,093)

SUMMARY

Driver fatigue is a major contributor to roadtrauma, and young drivers are over-represented in fatigue-related crashes.Nonetheless the evidence-base for targetedinterventions is lacking. The aims of thisproject were to collect information fromyoung drivers regarding their beliefs, attitudes,and behaviours in relation to driving whilstfatigued; design anti-fatigue messagesspecifically targeting young drivers; andevaluate these anti-fatigue messages in termsof beliefs, attitudes, and intended behaviour.In 2005, we completed the field survey datacollection, and submitted draft and finalreports. The pamphlet that was developedduring this research program is an importantoutcome of this work.

16

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ROAD SAFETY RESEARCH TEAM From left to right: Ms Rena Friswell, A/Prof Ann Williamson, Ms Naomi Dunn,

Dr Susanne Murphy, Mr Tim Chamberlain, Dr Julie Hatfield, Dr Wei Du

17

TIME OF DAY, TIME AWAKE AND

ALCOHOL: THE EFFECTS ON FATIGUE

AND PERFORMANCE


Ann Williamson

FUNDING

2005-2006, ARC Discovery Grant (Totalbudget: $117,415. Funding received in 2005:$117,415)

SUMMARY

Previous studies have shown that around 18hours without sleep produces performancedeficits equivalent to a blood alcohol at thelegal limit for driving (0.05% blood alcoholcontent). All these studies, however, wereconfounded time awake and time of day sothat the sleep deprivation effects occurred inthe midnight to 6am period which coincideswith the lowest point in the body clock whenperformance capacity is low anyway. Thisproject will attempt to disentangle the effectsof time of day and time awake and validatethese effects using doses of alcohol, up totwice the legal limit for driving.

DATA MATCHING PROJECT OF WORK

RELATED DRIVER FATIGUE


Ann Williamson, Soufiane Boufous

FUNDING

2004-2005, Roads Traffic Authority (Totalbudget: $38,260. Funding received in 2005:$22,956)

SUMMARY

The aim of this project was to examine thecharacteristics of work-related traffic crashesinvolving drivers in New South Wales (NSW),Australia and to investigate fatigueinvolvement in these types of crashes.Probabilistic data record linkage was used tomerge police crash records and workerscompensation data for the period 1998-2002.The findings indicated that fatigue involvedcrashes were more likely to result in fatalityand incur higher costs than crashes notinvolving fatigue, especially if the crashoccurred on country roads. The study showsno significant difference in the proportion offatigue-related cases between on-duty andcommuting crashes and highlighted the needto further investigate the factors associatedwith fatigue in commuters. This projectdemonstrated the value of record linkagetechniques in addressing some of thelimitations of work-related data systems andin providing a more complete picture of thecircumstances of occupational traffic crashes.

“...a

roun

d 18

hou

rs w

ithou

t sle

ep p

rodu

ces

perf

orm

ance

def

icits

equ

ival

ent t

o a

bloo

dal

coho

l at t

he le

gal l

imit

for

driv

ing

(0.0

5%bl

ood

alco

hol c

onte

nt).”

Re

se

arc

h p

ro

jec

t str

ea

ms - R

oa

d S

afte

y

NEW SOUTH WALES YOUNG DRIVERS'

COHORT STUDY


Ann Williamson

COLLABORATORS

Robyn Norton (The George Institute forInternational Health), Mark Stevenson (TheGeorge Institute for International Health),Mark Woodward (The George Institute forInternational Health), Maurice Eisenbruch(School of Public Health and CommunityMedicine, UNSW), Don Carseldine (Roadsand Traffic Authority). This project is led bythe George Institute for International Health.

FUNDING

2000-2006, NSW Roads and Traffic Authority(No funding received in 2005)

SUMMARY

Road safety statistics show that young driversare over-represented in serious crashes. Thiscollaborative study, being led by the GeorgeInstitute aims to determine the specific riskfactors for serious injury and death outcomesin young drivers. This is a prospective cohortstudy of young drivers aged 17 to 24,involving mail-outs of invitations to completea study questionnaire on-line or via a mailedquestionnaire. The baseline data collectioninvolved a questionnaire covering drivertraining, risk perception, driver behaviour,sensation seeking behaviour and mentalhealth. Participants gave consent forprospective data linkage to their licensing,crash, and injury data held routinelycollected databases. Just over 20,000individuals completed the baselinequestionnaire. A one-year follow-upquestionnaire was sent out to around onequarter of the baseline study sample. Thestudy should assist in obtaining a betterunderstanding of the risk factors for youngdriver crashes and should lead to better andmore targeted interventions to reduce youngdriver crash risk.

PSYCHOSTIMULANT USE IN LONG

DISTANCE ROAD TRANSPORT


Ann Williamson

FUNDING

2004-2005, NSW Health (Total budget:$75,000. Funding received in 2005: $55,000)

SUMMARY

Divergent claims about the extent ofpsychostimulant use among long distanceheavy vehicle drivers have appeared in thescientific literature and popular press. Theaims of this project were to survey longdistance heavy vehicle drivers directly abouttheir experiences of drug use and to identifycharacteristics of drivers' work that areassociated with drug use. Anonymous surveyswere distributed to drivers at truck stops onmajor highways in NSW in 2005. The resultsindicate that work practices known toengender fatigue, including pay systems,predict drug taking among drivers. The resultshave clear implications for policy andpractice which aim to reduce occupationaldrug use and the health and safety risks itposes for drivers and other road users.

RISK TAKING ATTITUDES OF YOUNG

NSW DRIVERS


Julie Hatfield, Ralston Fernandes

COLLABORATORS

Soames Job (Roads and Traffic Authority)

FUNDING

2003-2006, Motor Accidents Authority (Totalbudget: $39,931. No funding received in2005)

SUMMARY

Risky driving is a major contributor to roadtrauma, particularly for young drivers, whoare over-represented in crash statistics.Different risky driving behaviours have beenexplained in terms of a range factors thatinfluence health-relevant behaviours, withoutany attempt to identify the profile of factorsthat are relevant to specific risky drivingbehaviours. The aims of this project were toidentify factors which are relevant tospeeding, drink driving, driving while fatiguedand non-use of restraint amongst youngdrivers; and to validate self-reported attitudesagainst the Implicit Attitudes computer Task.

18

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19

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MESSAGES AND

EXPERIENCES TO REDUCE ROAD-

RELATED ILLUSORY INVULNERABILITY

AND RISKY DRIVING, FOR SCHOOL

AGED CHILDREN AND YOUNG DRIVERS


Julie Hatfield

COLLABORATORS

Soames Job (Roads and Traffic Authority),Beryl Hesketh (University of Sydney), WendyJoung (University of Sydney)

FUNDING

2001-2005, Motor Accidents Authority (Totalbudget: $51,094. Funding received in 2005:$30,844)

SUMMARY

The over representation of young people inroad crash statistics is likely to owe partly tomisperception of risk and risky driving. Thisproject aimed to develop and evaluatematerials to improve risk perception, riskydriving, and road-trauma involvementamongst young people. In 2005, wecompleted data collection in a learner driversample. The pamphlet that was developedduring this research program is an importantoutcome of this work.

IMPLICIT ATTITUDES AND SIMULATED

DRIVING BEHAVIOUR


Julie Hatfield, Ralston FernandesCOLLABORATORSGavin Faunce (University of Sydney)FUNDING2004-2005, Australian Transport SafetyBureau (Total budget: $22,342. No fundingreceived in 2005)SUMMARYSpeeding is a substantial contributor towardroad trauma, and yet research regardingattitudes which influence speeding relies onself-report measures that may be subject tosocial desirability bias. The aims of this studywere to assess implicit attitudes towardsspeeding (employing the computer-basedImplicit Association Test) and theirrelationship to self-reported attitudes, self-reported behaviour, and simulated drivingbehaviour. In addition, the aim is to developan intervention to improve speeding-relatedattitudes (both implicit and explicit) andsimulated behaviour.

EVALUATION OF PROFILE LINE MARKING

AS A ROAD SAFETY COUNTERMEASURE


Julie Hatfield, Susanne Murphy

COLLABORATORS

Soames Job (Roads and Traffic Authority)

FUNDING

2004-2006, Australian Research CouncilLinkage Grant (funding partner: Roads andTraffic Authority) (Total budget: $107,078.Funding received in 2005: $51,731)

SUMMARY

Profile Line-Marking (PLM) aims to reducefatigue-related crashes by alerting driverswhen they begin veering off the road.Substantial stretches are laid annuallyAustralia-wide, although evaluation of PLMhas been unsophisticated or flawed. The aimsof this project are to improve understandingof PLM impacts by investigatingbeliefs/attitudes regarding PLM (e.g. "PLMdamages cars"); whether road-edge PLMincreases head-on crashes; the efficacy ofPLM with more widely spaced "ribs" with andwithout separate raised pavement markers;and underlying mechanisms (e.g. reducingfatigue, increasing visibility during night/wet)in order to improve the efficacy and efficiencyof PLM use.

"...n

ight

dri

ving

may

not

hav

e an

y cl

ear

diffe

rent

ial e

ffect

s on

per

form

ance

whe

n co

mpa

red

to d

ay d

rivi

ngin

eith

er p

erm

anen

t or

rota

ting

shift

dri

vers

." N

atio

nal T

rans

port

Com

mis

sion

Med

ia R

elea

se, 1

7th

Febr

uary

200

5.

Re

se

arc

h p

ro

jec

t str

ea

ms - R

oa

d S

afte

y

THE EFFECTS OF IN-VEHICLE

AUDIOVISUAL DISPLAY UNITS ON

SIMULATED DRIVING


Julie Hatfield, Timothy Chamberlain

FUNDING

2004-2005, Roads and Traffic Authority (Totalbudget: $22,539. No funding received in2005)

SUMMARY

Installation of in-car audiovisual displays isincreasing, yet there is no evidence-base forappropriate regulation. We investigatedwhether drivers attend to audiovisual displaysin other cars, and the associated drivingimpairments. 28 participants completed 3drives on a simulator while visual materialswere presented on a display positioned asthough in a neighbouring vehicle. A differentinstruction condition operated for each drive:ignore visual materials, attend, and noinstruction. Participants also completed onedrive without visual material (control).Drivers evidenced impairment in the attendcondition relative to the control condition.For example, they decelerated more slowlywhen confronted by pedestrian, and kept alane position on a curvy road that was morevariable and further to the left of centre. In asurvey, 96% of participants reported that theirsimulator driving was at least "a little"impaired by the visual materials. 31% ofparticipants reported having seen anentertainment display in another vehicle onthe road, with 80% of these reporting thatthey had paid at least "a little" attention to thelast sighted display. These findings suggestthat audiovisual displays that are visible fromanother vehicle are likely to distract driversand impair their driving performance.

EFFECTIVENESS AND

APPROPRIATENESS OF CHILD

RESTRAINTS


Wei Du, Julie Hatfield, Caroline Finch

COLLABORATORS

Lynne Bilston (Prince of Wales MedicalResearch Institute)

FUNDING

2005-2008, ARC, Motor Accidents Authorityand Roads and Traffic Authority (Total budget:$73,950. Funding received in 2005: $24,650)

SUMMARY

Significant numbers of children in Australiaare killed and injured each year as occupantsof motor vehicles. There is a need to definethe effectiveness of different forms ofAustralian restraint for children consideringthe impact of non-use and misuse. The aimsof this project are to develop a population-level profile of road trauma in childoccupants in NSW; characterise the types ofrestraints currently used in NSW; characteriseand quantify restraint misuse; determine thesize/weight deficiencies of existing dedicatedchild restraint and adult belt systems forAustralian children; assess the influencedeficiencies identified in crash protection;estimate the costs of injuries in children andthe cost-benefit associated with correctrestraint use. Development of the population-based profile of child road trauma hascommenced, via analysis of the hospitalseparations database. Data collection hasbeen completed for a telephone survey ofrestraint usage for children aged under 16,and data analysis is ongoing. A study tocharacterise the geometry of seatbelt andchild restraints on the market in Australia hascommenced. Planning for the third study,which involves an in-depth study of childrestraint misuse, is in its final stage.

20

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ea

ms -

Ro

ad

Sa

fte

yIR

MR

C A

NN

UA

L Repo

rt 2005

21

THE ROLE OF RISK PROPENSITY IN THE

RISKY DRIVING OF OLDER AND

YOUNGER DRIVERS


Julie Hatfield, Ralston Fernandes

FUNDING

2005, Australian Transport Safety Bureau(Total budget: $22,095. Funding received in2005: $13,256)

SUMMARY

Risky driving is a major contributor to roadtrauma, particularly for young drivers, whoare over-represented in crash statistics.Investigation of limited experience and risk-perception skills as crash contributors haslacked appropriate consideration of risk-propensity (willingness/desire to take risks).The aims of this project are to investigateinterrelationships between aspects of risk-propensity (measured using recently-developed questionnaires), age, experience,risk-perception, and risky driving, in order toinform improved road safetycountermeasures.

A REVIEW REGARDING THE EFFECTS OF

ADVERTISING INSTALMENTS ON ROAD

SAFETY


Julie Hatfield

FUNDING


SUMMARY

Advertising instalments (e.g. advertising onstands, billboards, bus stands, buses, taxis,and other vehicles) may negatively impactroad safety in several ways, primarilythrough obstruction of the driver's view ofdriving-relevant stimuli; visual clutter andreduced conspicuity of driving-relevant signs;and driver distraction. The aims of thisproject are to review the literature relevant tothis issue and to provide the Roads andTraffic Authority with a report andrecommendations.

DEVELOPMENT OF A TESTING PROGRAM

TO CONDUCT ACOUSTIC SURVEY OF

ENGINE BRAKE NOISE


Julie Hatfield

FUNDING

2005-2006, Roads and Traffic Authority (Totalbudget: $8,836. Funding received in 2005:$4,418)

SUMMARY

The RTA has been working with the NationalTransport Commission (NTC) in thedevelopment of a regulatory approach tomanaging engine brake noise (EB) noise.There is a need to conduct a community-based survey to examine the associationbetween human reaction (includingannoyance) to record EB noise events andvarious acoustical indices calculated fromthese events (employing NTC-developedalgorithms). The aim of this project was todevelop a research design and researchmaterials for this purpose. The RTA wasprovided with a report that detailed theexperimental design-e.g. sample size andstratification, sampling techniques, stimuliselection (i.e. noise levels, noise impulsivitycharacteristics), methods for obtaining ratings,inclusion of important modifiers (i.e. noisesensitivity, attitudes to the noise source);detailed data analysis and interpretationissues-e.g. selection of an appropriatestandard based on " % highly annoyed "; andincluded survey materials-e.g. researcherinstructions, questionnaires.

“If a

dri

ver

can

see

[a m

ovie

pla

ying

] in

ano

ther

car

, doe

s th

at im

pair

thei

r dr

ivin

g? In

mos

tca

ses,

my

gues

s is

the

answ

er is

yes

.”D

r Ju

lie H

atfie

ld, D

rive

n to

dis

trac

tion?

not

the

kids

, oth

er d

rive

rs, T

he S

ydne

y M

orni

ng H

eral

d, 7

th M

arch

200

5.

Re

se

arc

h p

ro

jec

t str

ea

ms -

Ro

ad

Sa

ftey

22

IRM

RC

AN

NU

AL R

epor

t 2005

Re

se

arc

h p

ro

jec

t str

ea

ms -

Sp

orts

an

d R

ec

re

ati

on

al

Inju

ry

23

“Cri

cket

is o

ne o

f Aus

tral

ia's

mos

t pop

ular

spo

rts,

bot

h in

term

s of

spe

ctat

or in

tere

st a

nd

part

icip

atio

n ra

tes.

How

ever

, par

ticip

atio

n in

cri

cket

can

be

asso

ciat

ed w

ith a

ris

k of

inju

ry. ”

Re

se

arc

h p

ro

jec

t str

ea

ms - S

po

rts

an

d R

ec

re

atio

na

l Inju

ry

SPORTS AND RECREATIONAL

INJURY

RISK FACTORS FOR REPETITIVE

MICROTRAUMA INJURY TO

ADOLESCENT AND ADULT CRICKET

FAST BOWLERS


Rebecca Dennis, Caroline Finch

COLLABORATORS

Bruce Elliott (School of Human Movementand Exercise Science, UWA), AndrewMcIntosh (School of Safety Science, UNSW)

FUNDING

2003-2005, Cricket Australia (Total budget:$40,145. No funding received in 2005)

SUMMARY

Cricket is one of Australia's most popularsports, both in terms of spectator interest andparticipation rates. However, participation incricket can be associated with a risk of injury.Fast bowlers have consistently been identifiedas being at the greatest risk of injury, whichclearly establishes them as the priority groupfor continued risk factor research. The aim ofthis project was to describe the epidemiologyof repetitive microtrauma injuries and identifythe risk factors for these injuries to maleadolescent and adult fast bowlers. Theproject consisted of three prospective cohortstudies investigating bowling workload,technique and physical characteristics as riskfactors for injury, with data being collectedover the period 2000-04. Results of theproject were presented to cricketadministrators, policymakers, coaches andmedical staff in a variety of forumsthroughout the year.

Observing the bowling technique of a cricket fast bowler

SPORTS INJURY RESEARCH TEAMFrom left to right: Prof Caroline Finch, Ms Maria Romiti(not shown: Dr Shauna Sherker and Ms Rebecca Dennis)

Analysing the physical characteristics of a cricket fast bowler

24

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Inju

ry

MANAGING RETURN-TO-PLAY

DECISIONS FOLLOWING MILD

TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (MTBI): A

COHORT STUDY


Caroline Finch

COLLABORATORS

Mark Stevenson (The George Institute forInternational Health, University of Sydney),Michael Collins and Mark Lovell (Universityof Pittsburgh Medical Centre), Andy Lee(School of Population Health, University ofWestern Australia), Andrew McIntosh (Schoolof Safety Science, UNSW). This project is ledby the George Institute for InternationalHealth.

FUNDING

2004-2008, USA Centre for Disease Controland Prevention Grant (No funding receivedin 2005)

SUMMARY

Contact sports, such as the football codes,carry a high risk of mild traumatic headinjury (mTBI) and such injuries have thepotential for adverse long-term sequelae.Despite the potential to significantly reducethe adverse outcomes of mTBI there areconflicting guidelines about when a playershould return to play. The aims of this projectare to estimate the incidence of rugby-relatedmTBI (also known as concussion), assess therole of protective factors (such as head gearand mouthguards), and develop guidelinesfor managing return-to play decisionfollowing mTBI. During the 2005 season, thestudy recruited 1276 males aged 16 and overwho played high school or community level(non-elite) rugby within the Sydneymetropolitan area. Demographic information,potential risk factors and recent concussionhistory were collected on all players atbaseline. Selected school and club playersundertook baseline neuropsychologicaltesting and post-injury cognitive functioningwas also assessed at four time intervals.

SUBSTANCE USE AND SNOW SPORT

ACTIVITY: AN INVESTIGATION OF RISK

PERCEPTIONS, ATTITUDES AND

KNOWLEDGE


Caroline Finch, Shauna Sherker

COLLABORATORS

Prof Jim Kehoe (School of Psychology,UNSW), Dr Mark Doverty (NSW SouthernArea Health Services)

FUNDING

2004-2005, NSW Southern Area HealthServices (Total budget: $30,909. No fundingreceived in 2005)

SUMMARY

The aim of this project was to investigateperceptions of snowfield resort visitors aboutinjury risk regarding alcohol, fatigue andrecreational drug use.

Visitors to a resort village in a large Australiansnowfield region completed a brief surveyabout fatigue, alcohol and recreational druguse and injury risk perception. Participantsstated their ability to ski or snowboard anddrive safely following a lack of sleep, alcoholand recreational drugs use. Intoxicatedsnowfield report visitors were compared withnon-intoxicated visitors. Safety beliefs acrosssnowsport and transport were compared.

Most participants reported that they generallyslept less than usual and 30% reported bothdrinking alcohol and using drugs more thanusual while visiting the snowfields.Participants perceived driving as a greaterinjury risk than skiing/snowboarding(p<0.001). Fatigue was perceived as arelatively weak injury risk factor, particularlywhile skiing and snowboarding.

25

“You

hav

e to

intr

oduc

e yo

urse

lf to

spo

rt, v

ery

gent

ly. P

eopl

e w

ho d

id n

ot g

et in

jure

d al

l sou

ght

prof

essi

onal

adv

ice,

had

a lo

t of c

oach

ing

for

thei

r ac

tivity

and

had

exp

erie

nce

in th

e ga

me.

The

y pa

rtic

ipat

ed in

thin

gs li

ke p

re-s

easo

n tr

aini

ng, t

o ge

t the

ir b

odie

s up

to a

bas

e le

vel o

f phy

sica

l fitn

ess

befo

re th

ey to

ok u

p co

mpe

titiv

e sp

ort.”

Pro

f Car

olin

e Fi

nch,

You

're

neve

r to

o ol

d, T

he S

ydne

y M

orni

ng H

eral

d, 2

4th

Febr

uary

200

5 Re

se

arc

h p

ro

jec

t str

ea

ms - S

po

rts

an

d R

ec

re

atio

na

l Inju

ry

THE JUNIOR AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL

SAFETY STUDY (JAFSS)


Caroline Finch, Maria Romiti

COLLABORATOR

Belinda Gabbe (Department of Epidemiologyand Preventive Medicine, Monash University)

FUNDING

2004-2005, Australian Football LeagueResearch Board, NSW Sporting InjuriesCommittee, Sports and Recreation Victoria(Total budget: $69,622. Funding received in2005: $2,962)

SUMMARY

Continued growth of junior sports dependsheavily upon the level of safety associatedwith participation in any given activity. TheJunior Australian Football Safety Study (JAFSS)was designed to investigate the rates andpatterns of injury among Australian footballparticipants spanning from the U9 level ofplay through to the U18 level of play.Additionally, comparisons were made to theonly other comprehensive study of injuries injunior Australian football players, conductedover a decade ago. The project has identifiedpriority areas for injury prevention andrecommended specific game developmentstrategies, related to level of play.

REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF VICTORIAN

SPORT RISK MANAGEMENT

STRATEGIES, POLICIES AND PROGRAMS


Caroline Finch

COLLABORATORS

Leonie Otago (School of Human Movementand Sports Sciences, University of Ballarat),Peter Swan (School of Human Movement andSports Sciences, University of Ballarat),Jennifer Blitvich (School of Human Movementand Sports Sciences, University of Ballarat),Sue Brown (School of Human Movement andSports Sciences, University of Ballarat). Thisproject is led by the University of Ballaratresearchers.

FUNDING

2004-2005, Department for VictorianCommunities (No funding received in 2005)

SUMMARY

This project has examined the extent to whichVictorian State Sporting Bodies havedeveloped and implemented risk managementplans. The aims were to investigate how, andto what extent, sport clubs and associationsadopted their State Sporting Association (SSA)SIRM plan into their everyday operations. Toadequately explore this, the project wasconducted in five phases: a review of SSASIRM policies for clubs, an interview with akey SSA person; the development andimplementation of a survey for clubs andassociations, and development andimplementation of a survey for clubs andassociations. Overall, the findings of the fivephases support the need for a practical SIRMprocess at club level. Generic riskmanagement protocols have their place butclubs need to know what is expected of them,and how they should implement SIRM andwhat the benefits of undertaking the practicesare.

26

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Inju

ry PARENTAL PERCEPTIONS OF SPORTS

INJURY RISK


Caroline Finch

COLLABORATORS

Leonie Otago (School of Human Movementand Sports Sciences, University of Ballarat),Michael Reynolds (School of HumanMovement and Sports Sciences, University ofBallarat), Michael Spittle (School of HumanMovement and Sports Sciences, University ofBallarat), Warren Payne (School of HumanMovement and Sports Sciences, University ofBallarat), Jack Harvey (School of HumanMovement and Sports Sciences, University ofBallarat). This project is led by the Universityof Ballarat researchers.

FUNDING

2004-2005, Victorian Health PromotionFoundation (No funding received in 2005)

SUMMARY

The project investigated parental perceptionsof the risk of sports injury to their children inVictoria. The project aimed to investigate theinfluence and extent of parental perceptionsof sports injury risk as a barrier to youngpeople's participation in sport. To explore theinfluence of these perceptions, the projectwas conducted in 2 phases: a quantitativesurvey of parents and a follow-upquantitative phase where selected parentswere interviewed concerning theirperceptions of sports injury risk. Overall, thefindings of both phases of the projectsupported that parents acknowledged andwere aware of the injury risk of participationin sport and between different sports.However, parental perceptions of sport injuryrisk did not appear to be strong influences ofparental actions regarding sportsparticipation.

EVALUATION OF THE SAFECLUB

TRAINING INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE

COMMUNITY SPORTS SAFETY


Shauna Sherker

COLLABORATORS

Paul Klarenaar (Northern Sydney CentralCoast Health), Kristy Abbott (YouthSafe), AlexDonaldson (Port Phillip Community Health).This project is being coordinated byYouthSafe.

FUNDING

2005-2006, NSW Sporting InjuriesCommittee, and Northern Sydney CentralCoast Health for a 12 months follow-up ofsoccer clubs (No funding received in 2005)

SUMMARY

Risk management plans have been identifiedas the 'best buy' in sports injury preventionhowever local research indicates that fewcommunity sports clubs have such plans, northe skills and infrastructure to develop them.The SafeClub training program wasintroduced to assist community sports clubs todevelop and implement sports safety plansusing a risk management approach and injuryprevention concepts. The aim of this study isto evaluate the effectiveness of the SafeClubtraining program as a means of enablingcommunity soccer clubs to improve theirsports safety infrastructure, policies andpractices. Baseline and post-interventionsafety infrastructure and policies weremeasured using a modified version of theSports Safety Audit Tool. Preliminary resultsindicate that there was no significantdifference at baseline between interventionand control soccer clubs regarding riskmanagement policy and infrastructure. Postseason results will be analysed in 2006. Thefindings of this innovative project will providemuch needed evidence to guide the processof supporting community sportingorganisations to adopt best practice in sportsinjury prevention.

27

“...t

he c

entr

al m

essa

ge w

as n

ot to

sto

p pl

ayin

g sp

ort b

ut to

mod

ify e

xist

ing

spor

t to

min

imis

e in

jury

”So

ufia

ne B

oufo

us, B

attle

of t

he C

odes

,The

Syd

ney

Mor

ning

Her

ald,

5th

Feb

ruar

y 20

05R

ese

arc

h p

ro

jec

t str

ea

ms - S

po

rts

an

d R

ec

re

atio

na

l Inju

ry

BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS TO

COMPLIANCE WITH PLAYGROUND

SAFETY STANDARDS


Shauna Sherker, Rebecca Dennis

COLLABORATORS

Jan Ritchie (School of Public Health andCommunity Medicine, UNSW), David Eager(Dept of Engineering, UTS)

FUNDING

2004-2005, UNSW Faculty Research Grant-Early Career Researcher (Total budget:$23,450. Funding received in 2005: $19,680)

SUMMARY

Playground related injury is a serious andcommon childhood event, resulting insubstantial trauma and treatment costs.Playground injury hospitalisation rates haveincreased, despite stringent playground safetystandards being introduced. This trendappears to be driven in part by a lack ofcompliance with playground safety standards.This study aims to identify how localgovernment enforce regulations forplayground safety. Further, will identify thebarriers and facilitators to playground safetystandard compliance in local government,and to highlight examples of best practice. Atelephone survey of key informants forplayground safety in all 152 localgovernment councils in New South WalesAustralia was undertaken in 2005. The extentof playground safety compliance bymetropolitan and non-metropolitan councils,council enforcement of regulations includinginspection and maintenance processes andbarriers and facilitators to compliance will bereported.

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF SEVERE

AND CATASTROPHIC SPORTS INJURIES

IN NSW


Caroline Finch, Soufiane Boufous

FUNDING

2005-2007, NSW Sporting Injuries Committee(Total budget: $59,125. Funding received in2005: $39,190)

SUMMARY

The aim of this project is to examine seculartrends in severe and catastrophic sportsinjuries in New South Wales and to determinethe nature and the circumstances of thesecases. Results will be presented in the form ofthree annual reports. The objective of the firstreport is to present a baseline epidemiologicalprofile of hospitalisations and deaths relatedto participation in sport and leisure activitiesin NSW. Data on sports-related injuries wasextracted from the NSW Inpatient StatisticalCollection and the ABS death data based onthe International Classification Diseases (ICD-10) activity coding indicating injury whileengaging in sports and leisure activities. Ratesof catastrophic sports injuries will providedbased on ABS population data as well asparticipation data obtained from theParticipation in Exercise, Recreation and SportSurveys run by the Australian SportsCommission and state and territorydepartments of sports and recreation.

28

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al

Inju

ry

SPORTS GROUND AND SURFACE STUDY

AND DEVELOPMENT OF USER SAFETY

GUIDELINES


Caroline Finch

COLLABORATORS

Leonie Otago (School of Human Movementand Sports Sciences, University of Ballarat),Peter Swan (School of Human Movement andSports Sciences, University of Ballarat),Warren Payne (School of Human Movementand Sports Sciences, University of Ballarat),Ian Chivers Harvey (Racing Solutions,Victoria) and John Orchard (Sports MedicineCentre, NSW). This project is led by theUniversity of Ballarat researchers.

FUNDING

2005-2006, Department for VictorianCommunities (No funding received in 2005)

SUMMARY

The aim of this project is to investigate thepolicies of Victorian Local GovernmentAuthorities along with the State SportingAssociations of Football, Cricket, Hockey andSoccer in relation to sports ground safety andground suitability for play. The methodologyis a six stage process investigating currentpolicies are being adopted, includingmethods and practices at club andassociation level across metropolitan,regional and rural settings and to establishnormative data for conditions of groundsurfaces for Australian Rules Football groundsat a representative number of metropolitan,regional and rural environments.

29

"The cost was estim

ated at $16.9 billion; an average cost per incident of $118,540."

Re

se

arc

h p

ro

jec

t str

ea

ms -

Wo

rk-r

ela

ted

Inju

ry

30

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ms -

Wo

rk-r

ela

ted

In

jury

WORK-RELATED INJURY

ANALYSIS OF SAFETY PERFORMANCE

MEASURES OF THE NEW SOUTH WALES

MINING INDUSTRY


Ann Williamson, Tim Chamberlain

FUNDING

2001-2005, The NSW Department of MineralResources (Total budget: $19,578. Fundingreceived in 2005: $19,578)

SUMMARY

In addition to information on injury-relatedincidents, the NSW mining industry collectsincident information that is relevant tooccupational safety and health. Unlike otherindustry sectors where workplace health andsafety information is based exclusively onfatality and severe injury data, this additionalinformation is based on Notifiable Incidentsthat are required to be reported to thegovernment regulatory agency under a rangeof mine safety acts and regulations. The aimof this project is to provide an annual reporton the reportable incidents collected by theDepartment of Primary Industry-Minerals.The report describes the nature of incidentsand circumstances in which they occur. Thisanalysis provides a broader view of incidentsthat have both actual and potential impact onsafety and are leading to the development ofmore informed strategies to address the majorproblems in mine safety in NSW.

THE EFFECTS OF PRECARIOUS WORK

ON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND

SAFETY


Ann Williamson

COLLABORATORS

Prof Phillip Bohle and Prof Michael Quinlan(School of Organisation and Management,UNSW). This project is led by the School ofOrganisation and Management, UNSW.

FUNDING

2001-2005, Australian Research CouncilDiscovery Grant (No funding received in2005)

SUMMARY

Temporary, part time or casual work isincreasing in Australian workplace. This typeof work is often summarised as precariouswork and much has been written about thepotential impact of these types of workarrangements on occupational health andsafety. The aim of this study is to examine theeffects of precarious work on health andsafety of workers in the hospitality, call centreand road transport industries. A survey of roadtransport workers was conducted and theresults analysed. Comparison of short haultruck drivers in permanent employee, casualemployee and owner driver workarrangements showed that short haul driversworked very long hours that were similar tolong haul drivers, under arguably morecontinuously trying condition of congestedurban roads. Work-related injuries (mainlyrelated to lifting and loading and unloading)were quite common among employee driversand over a third of permanent employeedrivers reported a chronic illness (mainly backproblems and deafness) or having made aworkers' compensation claim in the past fiveyears. These findings with regard to the longhours and pressures on short haul drivers raiseimportant policy issues. In the past, theworking conditions of long haul truck driverswere seen as rather unique, requiringparticular forms of regulatory intervention (tocombat fatigue etc). Our study found that gapbetween employment and working conditionsof long haul and short haul drivers was lessthan previously imagined. This suggests thatexisting policy interventions for short hauldrivers may need to be reconsidered.

WORK-RELATED INJURY RESEARCH TEAMFrom left to right: Mr Tim Chamberlain, Ms Rena Friswell, A/Prof Ann

Williamson, Ms Naomi Dunn, Ms Mary Potter-Forbes

31

COST OF WORK RELATED INJURIES AND

ILLNESS IN NSW


Mary Potter Forbes

COLLABORATORS

Peter Abelson (Faculty of Economics andBusiness, University of Sydney), Tim Driscoll(School of Public Health, University ofSydney)

FUNDING

2004-2005, WorkCover (Total budget:$93,120. Funding received in 2005: $93,120)

SUMMARY

The objectives of this project were toestimate the cost of compensable workrelated injury and illness occurring in NSWin 2000-2001, and to develop a resource foruse in ongoing economic evaluation ofregulatory interventions. The cost wasestimated at $16.9 billion; an average costper incident of $118,540. The estimateincluded the costs of hospitalisation, theconsumption of medical services and theadministration of the claim as well as the costof mortality and morbidity (net ofproductivity losses). A complex mappingbetween coding systems was necessary toderive the hospitalisation cost estimate. Excelspreadsheets were constructed for sensitivityanalysis and supplied to WorkCover NSW forweb-site implementation. The work wasbased on the methodology previouslydeveloped at the Centre but certainalgorithms have been refined and parametervalues updated. The approach is consistentwith that adopted by Access Economics in itswork for the National Occupation Health &Safety Commission in 2003.

PILOT SURVEY ON EMPLOYMENT TYPE,

HOURS OF WORK AND SAFETY IN NSW

MINING 2003-2004


Ann Williamson

FUNDING

2005, NSW Department of Primary Industry(Total budget: $15,834. Funding received in2005: $15,834)

SUMMARY

The main aims of this pilot study were todescribe the ways people are employed in theNSW mining industry, and to set a precedentfor future research. Of key interest were thetypes of employment and areas of work, hoursworked and safety outcomes for contractors inthe NSW mining industry. The analysis of thecharacteristics of contractors working in themines that returned surveys suggests a numberof important differences between contractorsand employees that need to be validated in alarger survey. Further, the results identifiedaspects that could be improved to make alarger survey more successful. The IRMRCcoordinated and hosted a Workshop ondesigning a study of employment type, hoursof work and safety in NSW mining which wasattended by mining industry representatives ofemployers, employees and government.

“Wor

k-re

late

d in

jury

is a

n im

port

ant p

ublic

hea

lth is

sue

in N

SW. T

he s

tudy

des

crib

es in

form

atio

non

sel

f-re

port

ed w

ork-

rela

ted

inju

ries

col

lect

ed a

s pa

rt o

f the

200

2 N

SW H

ealth

Sur

vey

Prog

ram

. ”

Re

se

arc

h p

ro

jec

t str

ea

ms - W

ork-r

ela

ted

Inju

ry

SELF REPORTED WORK-RELATED

INJURY AND ILLNESS IN NSW


Rebecca Mitchell, Soufiane Boufous

FUNDING

2005, Core funding

SUMMARY

Work-related injury is an important publichealth issue in NSW. The study describesinformation on self-reported work-relatedinjuries collected as part of the 2002 NSWHealth Survey Program. A total of 15.6% ofemployed persons reported that they hadsuffered an injury or illness related to work inthe last 12 months. Males and young workerswere more likely to report experiencing awork-related injury/illness than females orolder workers. The most common injury-reported was sprains and strains of joints andadjacent muscles. Only one-quarter ofrespondents reported receiving workers'compensation for their injury/illness. Datasources from the health system are animportant source of information for work-related injury/illness. Health surveyinformation can complement other work-related injury/illness data sources andcontribute to the current knowledgeregarding the magnitude, nature and severityof work-related injury/illness in NSW.

32

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ela

ted

In

jury

RESEARCH ON FATIGUE MANAGEMENT

IN THE RAIL INDUSTRY


Ann Williamson

FUNDING

2005-2006, National Transport Commission(Total budget: $14,500. Funding received in2005: $9,500)

SUMMARY

This project involved providing expert reviewand advice to the National TransportCommission on the development of a nationalapproach to managing the risks associatedwith fatigue in Rail Safety Workers. Thisincluded attended meetings with stakeholdersleading and membership of a Fatigue ExpertGroup which led to preparation of a numberof draft proposals for fatigue management thatform the basis for a national regulatoryframework to govern this area in rail safety.

PROJECTS APPROVED FOR FUNDING IN

2005 BUT FOR WHICH RESEARCH WORK

WILL NOT COMMENCE UNTIL 2006

IRMRC staff are listed in bold in the followinglist

Finch C, Lloyd D, Elliott B. Can exercisetraining programs prevent knee injuries?NHMRC Project Grant. 2006-2009(1,065,650)

Hayen A, Sherker S. The spatial epidemiologyof playground falls in New South Wales.UNSW Faculty of Science Early CareerResearch Grant. 2006 ($18,747)

McIntosh A, Williamson A. Rail safety andreliability: a human factors and ergonomicsapproach. 2006-2008. ($ 381,207) (to beadministered through the School of SafetyScience).

Poulos R, Rutherford A, Zwi A, Finch C,Hayen A, Moore H, Zwi K, Comino E. Thespatial distribution of childhood injurymorbidity and morality in NSW. UNSWFaculty of Medicine Research Grant. 2006($26,518) (to be administered through Schoolof Public Health and Community Medicine)

33

PUBLIC HEALTH TRAINEE FELLOWSHIP

ON CORONIAL AND EMERGENCY DATA


Caroline Finch

FUNDING

2005-2006, NSW Health

SUMMARY

Melissa Irwin began a six month placementas a Public Health Officer at the IRMRC inDecember 2005. She is examining at theusefulness of the National CoronersInformation System for injury surveillance.She will also negotiate access to NCIS onbehalf of the Centre.

BIOSTATISTICAL APPROACHES FOR

INJURY DATA


Caroline Finch

COLLABORATORS

William Dunsmuir (School of Mathematics,UNSW)

FUNDING

2004-2007, NSW Health

SUMMARY

Our second Biostatistical Officer (Sanja Lujic)commenced her placement with the Centrein February. Sanja assessed the quality of thelinkage hospitalisation separations withpolice crash records in terms of the matchingrate and identifying groups that did/did notmatch well.

Robin Turner has commenced asBiostatistical officer for a 12 monthplacement in September. Her work isfocussing on developing methodologies toanalyse spatio-temporal count data, withexamples drawn from hip fractures in olderpeople.

“San

ja a

sses

sed

the

qual

ity o

f the

link

age

hosp

italis

atio

n se

para

tions

with

pol

ice

cras

h re

cord

sin

term

s of

the

mat

chin

g ra

te a

nd id

entif

ying

gro

ups

that

did

/did

not

mat

ch w

ell.

”T

ra

inin

g a

nd

Ca

pa

city

Bu

ildin

g

SHORT COURSE

In 2005, the IRMRC delivered an innovativecourse on injury prevention focusing on abroad multidisciplinary approach to riskmanagement. The objective of the course wasto explore concepts in injury riskmanagement with particular emphasis onunderstanding how injury occurs and howinjury differs from other public healthproblems. The course covered:

> What is injury? The size of the problemsand different ways of counting injury.

> Introduction to the concepts of risk, riskassessment and risk management. Qualityand safety, hazards and risks and the roleof risk perception.

> Theories and approaches to injurycausation. Public health, road safety andrisk management theories of injurycausation.

> Injury surveillance including sources ofinjury data, injury coding andclassification and introduces ICD codingof injury mechanism, nature and agencyas well as the limitations of populationdatabases.

> Approaches to injury prevention policyand intervention and the role ofregulation.

> Introduction to human factors and injury.

> Injury risk management in the real world.

The course was conducted over fiveconsecutive days in July and 14 studentswere enrolled in it. The course is universityaccredited, counting as six units of credittowards postgraduate qualifications. It wasalso offered as a non-award programme fornon-UNSW students.

34

IRM

RC

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NU

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epor

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Te

ac

hin

g a

nd

Se

min

ar

SEMINAR

Dr Wendy Watson - Monash UniversityAccident Research Centre, November2005 "Are population-based burden ofinjury measures valid for priority setting?"

Wendy completed her PhD on aninvestigation into population-basedmeasures of health status or health-related quality of life to establish whethercurrent measures have concurrent andpredictive validity when used to measurethe burden of injury. She presented themethodology and results of her work tothe IRMRC staff and invited guests.

35

GOVERNMENT AND POLICY FORUMS

ATTENDED

PROF CAROLINE FINCH

> Attended Injury Futures Planning Forumon 14th March 2005.

> Attended the Elderly Falls Forum meetingon 4th May 2005.

A/PROF ANN WILLIAMSON

> Ran workshop for Performance MeasureTask group of the NSW Mine SafetyAdvisory Committee meeting on 21st

February, 6th May and 19th October 2005.

> Attended Injury Futures Planning Forumon 14th March 2005.

> Attended the Child Fatalities and Injuriesin Driveways Project Steering CommitteeMeeting on 19th May 2005.

> Attended meeting at MAA on developmentof Child Safety Strategy on 13th October2005.

> Attended Productivity Commission Forumon research issues relevant to the Reviewof Australian Consumer Product SafetySystem, Canberra, 14th October 2005.

> Attended workshop on development ofchild road safety policy for MAA on 23rd

November 2005.

ANNALIESE DOWLING

> Attended the Elderly Falls Forum meetingon 4th May 2005.

> Attended the 4th ANZAC ResearchInstitute Symposium on Ageing-NucleicAids to National Policy on 4th November2005.

DR ANDREW HAYEN

> Attended the Injury Futures PlanningForum on 14th March 2005.

DR REBECCA MITCHELL

> Attended the National CoronialInformation Advisory Group meeting on 9th

June 2005.

> Attended NSW Child and AdolescentInjury Prevention Symposium 2005,Parliament House, 29th November 2005.

MARY POTTER FORBES

> Attended the Injury Futures PlanningForum on 14th March 2005.

> Attended the Social Determinants ofHealth Futures Planning Forum on 14th

March 2005.

> Attended Productivity Commission Forumon research issues relevant to the Reviewof Australian Consumer Product SafetySystem, Canberra, 14th October 2005.

INVITED PRESENTATIONS AT POLICY

FORUMS

PROF CAROLINE FINCH

> The Injury Risk Management ResearchCentre: its role in injury preventionleadership. NSW Injury PreventionNetwork Meeting, 17-18th March 2005.(Invited talk)

> A system approach to Child andAdolescent Injury Prevention. NSW Childand Adolescent Injury PreventionSymposium 2005, Parliament House, 29th

November 2005. (Invited talk)

“It i

s tim

e fo

r th

e he

alth

sec

tor

to p

rope

rly

reco

gnis

e ch

ild in

jury

as

a cr

itica

l iss

ue fo

r th

eon

goin

g he

alth

of A

ustr

alia

n ch

ildre

n an

d to

form

ally

com

mit

to a

ppro

pria

te p

reve

ntiv

e ac

tions

”Pr

of C

arol

ine

Finc

h, L

ette

r to

Edi

tor,

Med

ical

Jour

nal o

f Aus

tral

ia, 1

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> Payment by results, fatigue and drug usein the long distance road transportindustry. Changing industries, IndustrialRelations, Occupational Safety and Healthand the Role of Work Organisation andEconomic Competition at Labor andEmployment Relations AssociationsAnnual Meeting, Philadelphia, USA, 6-8th

January 2005. (Invited talk)

> Introduction to injury risk management.NSW Injury Prevention Network Meeting,17-18th March 2005. (Invited talk)

> Injury monitoring and prevention: Roadsafety research at the IRMRC. NSW InjuryPrevention Network Meeting, 17-18th

March 2005. (Invited talk)

> Why are we worrying about youngdrivers? Launch of XRoads, a road safetyadvertisement for young drivers developedby Bankstown Team Phoenix, YouthAdvisory Group, 14th November 2005.(Invited talk)

SOUFIANE BOUFOUS

> Data linkage of road and Hospital data:what does it tell us? NSW InjuryPrevention Network Meeting, 17-18th


DR JULIE HATFIELD

> Project for safer people and safer roads.NSW Injury Prevention Network Meeting,17-18th March 2005. (Invited talk)

DR ANDREW HAYEN

> Injury hospitalisation in NSW: a fourthinjury profile for NSW. NSW InjuryPrevention Network Meeting, 17-18th


> A statistical overview to Child andAdolescent Injury Prevention. NSW Childand Adolescent Injury PreventionSymposium 2005, Parliament House, 29th

November 2005. (Invited talk)

DR ANDREW MARICH

> The Triage Injury Surveillance Project.NSW Injury Prevention Network Meeting,17-18th March 2005. (Invited talk)

DR SHAUNA SHERKER

> Slippery slopes: injury risk perceptions ofskiers and snowboarders regarding alcohol,fatigue and drug use. NSW InjuryPrevention Network Meeting, 17-18th


STAFF MEMBERSHIP OF COMMITTEES,

PANELS AND WORKING PARTIES

PROF CAROLINE FINCH

> Deputy Convenor, NSW Child DeathReview Team.

> Chair, 2006 AIPN Conference OrganisingCommittee.

> Member of International ScientificConference Committee, 8th WorldConference on Injury Prevention andSafety Promotion, Durban, South Africa,2nd-5th April 2006.36

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NSW Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention Symposium 2005,Parliament House, 29th November 2005

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> Member, Associate Professor PromotionCommittee for Australian Defence ForcesAcademy.

> Member, National Rail Industry Referencegroup on fatigue.

> Member, Performance MeasuresTaskgroup for NSW Mine Safety AdvisoryCommittee.

> Member, Farm Machinery SafetyReference group.

> Member, Expert Roundtable, Review of theAustralian Consumer Product SafetySystem - Incidence and Cost of ConsumerProduct Injury.

> Chair, UNSW Human Research EthicsAdvisory Panel-Social/Health Research

DR JULIE HATFIELD

> Member, NSW Road Safety Task Force.

> Member, AIPN Conference OrganisingCommittee.

DR ANDREW HAYEN

> Member, AIPN Conference ScientificCommittee.

DR ANDREW MARICH

> NSW Public Health Officer Trainingprogram - Trainee representative.

> Australasian Faculty of Public HealthMedicine - Public Health Officer Traineerepresentative.

REBECCA MITCHELL

> Chair, Scientific Committee, 2006National Playground Safety Conference.

> Member, Scientific Committee, HumanFactors and Ergonomics Society ofAustralia 2006 Conference.

> National General Secretary and BoardMember, Human Factors and ErgonomicsSociety of Australia.

> Member, National Coronial InformationAdvisory Group.

MARY POTTER FORBES

> Member, Expert Roundtable, Review of theAustralian Consumer Product SafetySystem - Incidence and Cost of ConsumerProduct Injury, Productivity Commission.

> Member, Research ManagementCommittee, Faculty of Science, UNSW.

> Member, Cross Faculty Marketing Group,Faculty of Science, UNSW.

MARIA ROMITI

> Student representative of the AustralianInjury Prevention Network ExecutiveCommittee.

DR SHAUNA SHERKER

> SMA (NSW) Board of Directors.

> Member, AIPN Conference ScientificCommittee.

> NSW IRMRC representative for the UNSWFaculty Management Research Committee(Science) (until August 2005).

LETTERS/EDITORIALS/OTHER ARTICLES

Finch C. A picture of Australia's children.Medical Journal of Australia. 2005; 183(4):223.

Finch C. Why good science is synonymouswith quality and integrity. Journal of Scienceand Medicine in Sport. 2005; 8(4): iv-vi.

Finch C. Taking the JSMS to 2005 and beyond- our performance and some key changes tothe editorial process. Journal of Science andMedicine in Sport. 2005; 8(1): iv-v.

Finch C. Informing public policy: the role ofthe Journal. Journal of Science and Medicinein Sport. 2005; 8(3): iv.

Finch C. JSAMS-Moving On. Sports Health.2005; 23(3):23

Finch C. The Journal of Science and Medicinein Sport is to enter fully into the electronicage! Journal of Science and Medicine inSport. 2005; 8(3): vi.

Mitchell R. Laptops in the workplace. OHSAlert. 2005; 6: 4-6.

Mitchell R, Hayen A. Defining cricket injury.British Journal of Sports Medicine.(electronic letter. October 2005)

Mitchell R, Hayen A. Defining cricket injury.Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.2005; 8(3): 357-359

Sherker S, Ozanne-Smith J. Are currentplayground safety standards adequate forpreventing arm fractures? Medical Journal ofAustralia. 2005; 182(1): 47.

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LIST OF MAJOR COLLABORATORS

During 2005, the Centre had major researchcollaborations with a number of peopleacross UNSW and external to it.

MS KRISTY ABBOTT Youthsafe

PROFESSOR PETER ABELSON MacquarieUniversity

A/PROFESSOR LYNNE BILSTON Prince ofWales Medical Research Institute, UNSW

A/PROF DEBORAH BLACK School of PublicHealth and Community Medicine, UNSW

PROFESSOR PHILIP BOHLE School ofOrganisation and Management, UNSW

DR ROB BRANDER School of Biological,Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW

MS JULIE BROWN Prince of Wales MedicalResearch Institute, UNSW

PROFESSOR IAN CAMERON RehabilitationStudies

MS MARGARET CAVANAGH Kidsafe

DR JACQUELINE CLOSE Prince of WalesMedical Research Institute

A/PROFESSOR JEAN CROSS School of SafetyScience, UNSW

DR LESLEY DAY Monash UniversityAccidents Research Centre

MR ALEX DONALDSON Northern AreaHealth Services

DR TIM DRISCOLL School of Public Health,University of Sydney

PROFESSOR WILLIAM DUNSMUIR Schoolof Mathematics, UNSW

MR DAVID EAGER Faculty of Engineering,University of Technology Sydney

DR ROCHELLE EIME School of HumanMovement and Sport Science, University ofBallarat

PROFESSOR BRUCE ELLIOTT School ofHuman Movement and Exercise Science,University of Western Australia

DR ANNE-MARIE FEYER PricewaterhouseCoopers/NEOH, University of Otago

PROFESSOR IAN FORBES, Group for HealthArchitecture and Planning (GHAAP), Facultyof the Built Environment, University ofTechnology Sydney (UTS)

DR BELINDA GABBE Department ofEpidemiology and Preventive Medicine,Monash University

MR MAX HEALEY Safety Science Associates

DR REBECCA IVERS The George Institute forInternational Health

PROFESSOR JIM KEHOE School ofPsychology, UNSW

DR TIM LAMBERT School of ComputerScience and Engineering, UNSW

DR DAVID LLOYD School of HumanMovement and Exercise Science, University ofWestern Australia

A/PROFESSOR STEPHEN LORD Prince ofWales Medical Research Institute

DR ANDREW MCINTOSH School of SafetyScience, UNSW

PROFESSOR ROBYN NORTON GeorgeInstitute of International Health, University ofSydney

A/PROFESSOR LEONIE OTAGO School ofHuman Movement and Sport Science,University of Ballarat

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Signing of the MOU between Youthsafe and IRMRC on 19th October 2005

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

The NSW Injury Risk Management ResearchCentre and Youthsafe have signed aMemorandum of Understanding on 19th

October 2005.

39

DR ROSLYN POULOS School of PublicHealth and Community Medicine, UNSW

PROFESSOR MICHAEL QUINLAN School ofOrganisation and Management, UNSW

DR DANIEL RAMP School of Biological,Earth and Environmental Science, UNSW

A/PROFESSOR JAN RITCHIE School ofPublic Health and Community Medicine,UNSW

DR ALISON RUTHERFORD School of PublicHealth and Community Medicine, UNSW

DR STEPHEN SHORROCK School ofAviation, UNSW

MS REBECCA STELLATO RIVM, Bilthoven,Netherlands

PROFESSOR MARK STEVENSON GeorgeInstitute of International Health, University ofSydney

DR DAINA STURNIEKS Prince of WalesMedical Research Institute

DR IRENE VAN KAMP RIVM, Bilthoven,Netherlands

PROFESSOR BILL WALSH Department ofSurgery, Prince of Wales Hospital

PROFESSOR ANTHONY ZWI School ofPublic Health and Community Medicine,UNSW

DR KAREN ZWI Sydney Children's Hospital

VISITORS TO THE CENTRES

MRS MARION BURGESS Australia DefenceForce Academy

DR TONY CARTER School of Public Healthand Tropical Medicine, James Cook University

DR LESLEY DAY Monash University AccidentResearch Centre

MR ROBERT FITZGERALD ProductivityCommission

DR RAPHAEL GRZEBIETA Department ofCivil Engineering, Monash University

MR MLADEN KOVAC WorkCover, NSW

PROF JOHN LANGLEY Injury PreventionResearch Unit, University of Otago, Dunedin,New Zealand

A/PROF REINHOLD MULLER School ofPublic Health and Tropical Medical, JamesCook University

DR WENDY WATSON Monash UniversityAccident Research Centre

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IRMRC Staff meeting with Prof Joseph Lai and his teammember at ADFA, Canberra on 15th September 2005

PUBLICATIONS

PEER-REVIEW JOURNAL PAPERS

Boufous S, Finch C. Epidemiology of scaldsin vulnerable groups in New South Wales,Australia, 1998/1999 to 2002/2003. Journalof Burn, Care and Rehabilitation. 2005;26(4): 320-326.

Boufous S, Finch C. Estimating the incidenceof hospitalised injurious falls: impact ofvarying case definitions. Injury Prevention.2005; 11; 334-336.

Boufous S, Finch C, Lord S, Close J. Theincreasing burden of pelvic fractures inolder people, New South Wales, Australia.Injury. 2005; 36: 1323-1329.

Cameron A, Gabbe B, McNeil J, Finch C,Smith K, Cooper J, Judson R, Wissman T.The trauma registry as a state wide qualityimprovement tool. Journal of Trauma. 2005;59(6): 1469-1476.

Dennis R, Finch C, Farhart PJ. Is bowlingworkload a risk factor for injury toAustralian junior cricket fast bowlers? BritishJournal of Sports Medicine. 2005; 39: 843-846.

Driscoll T, Marsh S, McNoe B, Langley J,Stout N, Feyer A-M, Williamson A.Comparison of fatalities from work relatedmotor vehicle traffic incidents in Australia,New Zealand, and United States. InjuryPrevention. 2005; 11: 294-299.

Eime R, Finch C, Owen N, McCarty C. Dosquash players accurately report use ofappropriate protective eyewear? Journal ofScience and Medicine in Sport. 2005; 8(3):352-356.

Eime R, Finch C, Wolfe R, Owen N, McCartyN. The effectiveness of a squash eyewearpromotion strategy. British Journal of SportsMedicine. 2005; 39: 681-685.

Eime R, McCarty C, Finch C, Owen N.Unprotected eyes in squash: not seeing therisk of injury. Journal of Science andMedicine in Sport. 2005; 8(1): 92-100.

Finch C, Braham R, McIntosh A, McCrory P,Wolfe R. Should football players wearcustom fitted mouthguards? Results from arandomised controlled trial. InjuryPrevention. 2005; 11: 242-246.

Gabbe B, Finch C, Bennell K, WajswelenerH. Risk factors for hamstring injuries incommunity-level Australian football. BritishJournal of Sports Medicine. 2005; 39: 106-110.

Gabbe BJ, Finch CF, Cameron PA, WilliamsonOD. Incidence of serious injury and deathduring sport and activities in Victoria,Australia. British Journal of Sports Medicine.2005; 39: 573-577.

Mitchell R, Boufous S. Self reported work-related injury in NSW. Journal ofOccupational Health and Safety. 2005;21(3): 229-236.

Rae K, Britt H, Orchard J, Finch C. Classifyingsports medicine diagnoses: A comparison ofthe International Classification of Diseases(ICD-10-AM) and the Orchard Sports InjuryClassification System (OSICS). British Journalof Sports Medicine. 2005; 39: 907-911.

Saddik B, Williamson A, Nuyahid I, Black D.The effects of solvent exposure on memoryand motor dexterity in working children.Public Health Reports. 2005; 120(6): 657-664.

Sherker S, Ozanne-Smith J, Rechitzer G,Grzebieta R. Out on a limb: risk factors forarm fracture in playground equipment falls.Injury Prevention. 2005; 11: 120-124.

Sherker S, Short A, Ozanne-Smith J. The in-situ performance of playground surfacing:implications for maintenance and injuryprevention. International Journal InjuryControl and Safety Promotion. 2005; 12(1):63-66.

Taylor D, Bennett D, Carter M, Gareval D,Finch C. Perceptions of surfboard ridersregarding the need for protective headgear.Wilderness and Environmental Medicine.2005; 16: 75-80.

Valuri G, Stevenson M, Finch C, Hamer P,Elliott B. The validity of a four week self-recall of sports injuries. Injury Prevention.2005; 11:135-137.

Watson L, Balster SM, Finch C, Dalziel R.Measurement of scapula upward rotation: areliable clinical procedure. British Journal ofSports Medicine. 2005; 39: 599-603.

Williamson A. Fatigue and coping with driverdistraction. Journal of the AustralasianCollege of Road Safety. 2005: 19-21.

RESEARCH REPORTS

Finch C, Mahoney M, Babic Z, Townsend M,Otago L. Fostering the delivery of safephysical activity environments: The role ofrisk management plans. VictorianDepartment of Human Services. December2005.

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Hatfield J. Literature review regarding theeffects of advertising instalments on roadsafety. Report to the Roads and TrafficAuthority of NSW. 2005

Hatfield J, Chamberlain T. The effects of in-vehicle audiovisual display units onsimulated driving. Report to the Roads andTraffic Authority of NSW. 2005.

Hatfield J, Job RFS, Hesketh B, Joung W. Thedevelopment of messages and experiencesto reduce road-related illusoryinvulnerability and risky driving, for youngdrivers. Report to the Motor AccidentsAuthority. 2005.

Hatfield J, Murphy S, Kasparian N, Job RFS.Risk perceptions, attitudes and behavioursregarding driver fatigue in NSW youth: Thedevelopmental of an evidence-based driverfatigue educational intervention strategy.Report to the Motor Accidents Authority.2005.

McIntosh A, McCrory P, Finch C, Best J,Chalmers D. Rugby headgear study. Schoolof Safety Science, UNSW. 2005.

Potter Forbes M, Abelson P, Driscoll T. Thecost of work related injury and illness inNew South Wales 2000-2001. Report to theNSW Workcover Authority. 2005.

CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS

Abbott K, Klarenaar P, Sherker S, DonaldsonA, Cross G. Measuring the success of "SafeClub": Can risk management trainingimprove community sports safety? 2005Australian Conference of Science andMedicine in Sport, Melbourne, 13-16th

October 2005. Journal of Science andMedicine in Sport. 2005; 8(4): 221.

Boufous S. Determining incident cases forhospitalised injurious falls in older people: adata linkage study. School of Public Healthand Community Medicine postgraduateresearch student conference, 9th September2005. SPHCM Postgraduate ResearchStudent Conference Program and Abstractsp.38.

Braham R, Finch C, McIntosh A, McCrory P.Community football players' attitudetowards protective equipment. 1st WorldCongress on Sports Injury Prevention, Oslo,Norway, 22nd-26th June 2005. BritishJournal of Sports Medicine. 2005;39(6):376.

Braham R, Zazryn T, Finch C. Challenges ofconducting sports injury research atcommunity level. 1st World Congress onSports Injury Prevention, Oslo, Norway,

22nd-26th June 2005. British Journal ofSports Medicine. 2005; 39(6):376-377.

Cameron P, Gabbe B, Finch C, Williamson O.The incidence of serious injury and deathduring sport and recreation activities inVictoria, Australia. 1st World Congress onSports Injury Prevention, Oslo, Norway,22nd-26th June 2005. British Journal ofSports Medicine. 2005; 39(6):378.

Eime R, Finch C, Wolfe R, Owen N, McCartyC. A controlled evaluation of a squasheyewear promotion strategy. 2005 AustralianConference of Science and Medicine inSport, Melbourne, 13-16th October 2005.Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.8(4):221

Gabbe BJ, Finch CF, Bennell KL, WajswelnerH, Orchard JW. Risk factors for hamstringinjuries in Australian football. 1st WorldCongress on Sports Injury Prevention, Oslo,Norway, 22nd-26th June 2005. British Journalof Sports Medicine. 2005; 39(6):385.

McManus A, Stevenson M, Finch C. Time-motion analysis: non-elite Australian football.2005 Australian Conference of Science andMedicine in Sport, Melbourne, 13-16thOctober 2005. Journal of Science andMedicine in Sport. 2005; 8(4):67.

McManus A, Stevenson M, Finch C. Time-motion analysis: non-elite field hockey. 2005Australian Conference of Science andMedicine in Sport, Melbourne, 13-16thOctober 2005. Journal of Science andMedicine in Sport. 2005; 8(4):68.

McManus A, Stevenson M, Finch C. Time-motion analysis: non-elite netball. 2005Australian Conference of Science andMedicine in Sport, Melbourne, 13-16thOctober 2005. Journal of Science andMedicine in Sport. 2005; 8(4):68.

Otago L, Garnham J, Reynolds M, Spittle M,Payne W, Finch C, Maher S. Parentalperceptions of sports injury risk. 2005Australian Conference of Science andMedicine in Sport, Melbourne, 13-16thOctober 2005. Journal of Science andMedicine in Sport. 2005; 8(4):205.

Romiti M, Finch C, Gabbe B. The JuniorAustralian Football Safety Study (JAFSS):injury patterns and future suggestions forinjury prevention. 2005 AustralianConference of Science and Medicine inSport, Melbourne, 13-16th October 2005.Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport.2005; 8(4):220.

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PRESENTATIONS

IRMRC co-authors listed in bold

CONFERENCES

PROF CAROLINE FINCH

Finch C. Research methods in sports injuryprevention. 1st World Congress on SportsInjury Prevention, Oslo, Norway, 22nd-26th

June 2005. (Invited keynote address)

Finch C. Community sports injury prevention.1st World Congress on Sports InjuryPrevention, Oslo, Norway, 22nd-26th June2005. (Invited talk)

Finch C. Surveillance in different populations.1st World Congress on Sports InjuryPrevention, Oslo, Norway, 22nd-26th June2005. (Invited talk)

Finch C. Injury prevention at the communitylevel. 1st World Congress on Sports InjuryPrevention, Oslo, Norway, 22nd-26th June2005. (Invited Chair)

Finch C. Methodology of sport injuryregistration: What are the key pieces of thepuzzle? 1st World Congress on SportsInjury Prevention, Oslo, Norway, 22nd-26th

June 2005. (Invited Co-Chair)

Finch C. What are the potential problems inintroducing protective equipment?. 1st

World Congress on Sports InjuryPrevention, Oslo, Norway, 22nd-26th June2005. (Invited talk)

Finch C. The interface between sports injuryprevention and public health. The 10th

Annual Stampede Sport MedicineConference, University of Calgary,Canada, 9th July 2005. (Invited talk)


Williamson A. Payment by results, fatigue anddrug use in the long distance roadtransport industry. Changing Industries,Industrial Relations, Occupational Safetyand Health, and the Role of WorkOrganisation and Economic Competition atLabor and Employment RelationsAssociation Annual Meeting, Philadelphia,6-8th January 2005. (Invited talk)

Williamson A. Fatigue and quality of life inthe long distance road transport industry.Maximising Safety, Efficiency and Qualityof Life: Linking the work and off-workconditions for transportation workersthrough the application of behaviouralscience, Transportation Research Board84th Annual Meeting, Washington DC, 9-13th January 2005. (Invited talk)

Williamson A. Payment by results, fatigue anddrug use in the long distance roadtransport industry. Health and Safety Effectsof Intense Competition on TransportWorkers, Transportation Research Board84th Annual Meeting, Washington DC, 9-13th January 2005. (Invited talk)

Williamson A. Analysis of the causes ofreportable incidents in the mining industry.Fourth National OHS Regulatory ResearchColloquium, Canberra, 9-10th February2005. (Proferred paper)

Williamson A. Drug use and incentivepayments for truck drivers. Fourth NationalOHS Regulatory Research Colloquium,Canberra, 9-10th February 2005. (Proferredpaper)

Williamson A. Fatigue and coping with driverdistraction. International conference onDriver Distraction, Sydney, 2-3rd June2005. (Invited talk)

Williamson A. The role of the human factor inmine safety. Annual Mine Safety Seminarfor NSW Inspectors of mines, 1st August2005. (Invited talk)

Williamson A. Fatigue in transportation. 2005International Conference on FatigueManagement in Transportation Operations,Seattle, USA, 11-15th September 2005.(Invited panellist)

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Williamson A. A data-matching study of therole of fatigue in work-related crashes.2005 International Conference on FatigueManagement in TransportationOperations, Seattle, USA, 11-15th

September 2005. (Proferred paper)

Williamson A. Developing effective measuresof fatigue for use in the real-world. 2005International Conference on FatigueManagement in TransportationOperations, Seattle, USA, 11-15th


Williamson A. Using self-report measures inoccupational and environmental health:can they be trusted? 9th InternationalConference on NeurobehaviouralMethods and Effects in OccupationalHealth, 28th September 2005. (Invitedkeynote address)

SOUFIANE BOUFOUS

Boufous S. Determining incident cases forhospitalised injurious falls in older people:a data linkage study. SPHCM postgraduateresearch student conference, 9th September2005. (Proferred paper)

REBECCA DENNIS

Dennis R. Bowling workload as a risk factorfor injury to elite cricket fast bowlers.Cricket Australia Sports Science MedicineForum, Brisbane, 4-5th April 2005. (Invitedtalk)

RENA FRISWELL

Friswell R. Evaluating fatigue managementstrategies for long distance road transport.2005 International Conference on FatigueManagement in TransportationOperations, Seattle, USA, 11-15th


DR JULIE HATFIELD

Hatfield J. Noise sensitivity: background andproposal for laboratory study. A meetingof noise experts, Utrechts, Netherlands,20th April 2005. (Invited talk)

Hatfield J. Transparent communication ofnoise information. RIVM (National Instituteof Public Health and the Environment,Netherlands), Bilthoven, Netherlands, 21stApril 2005. (Invited talk)

Hatfield J. Transparent communication ofnoise information. Ministry for HousingSpatial Planning and the Environmentaloffice, Den Haag, Netherlands, 27th April2005. (Invited talk)

MARY POTTER FORBES

Potter Forbes M. Multi-method approach toquality and safety in patient care: thecomponents of a comprehensive clinicalrisk management system in health care. 6th

Annual meeting of the Japanese Society forClinical Pathways, Nigata, Japan, 2nd

December 2005 (Invited keynote address)

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MARIA ROMITI

Romiti M. The Junior Australian Football SafetyStudy (JAFSS): injury patterns and futuresuggestions for injury prevention. 2005Australian Conference of Science andMedicine in Sport, Melbourne, 13-16th

October 2005. (Proferred paper)

DR SHAUNA SHERKER

Sherker S. Drunk, drowsy, doped: Injury riskperceptions of skiers and snowboardersregarding alcohol fatigue and drug use.Sports Medicine Australia-NSW Conferenceof Science and Medicine in Sport, Sydney,30th April 2005. (Invited talk)

Sherker S. Slippery slopes: injury riskperceptions of skiers and snowboarders inrelation to fatigue, alcohol and drug use.2005 Australian Conference of Science andMedicine in Sport, Melbourne, 13-16th

October 2005. (Proferred paper)

OTHER PRESENTATIONS

PROF CAROLINE FINCH

> Sports Injury in Australia. Direction de lapromotion de la securite, Ministere del'Education, du Loisir et du Sport, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, 12th April 2005. (Invitedtalk)

> Should we be concerned for the safety ofour children in sport? Direction de lapromotion de la securite, Ministere del'Education, du Loisir et du Sport, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, 12th April 2005. (Invitedtalk)

> The NSW Injury Risk ManagementResearch Centre. National Public HealthInstitute of Quebec, Montreal, 20th April2005. (Invited talk)

> Protective equipment and sports -perceived injury risk and safetybehaviours. Clinical Research Rounds,Montreal Children's Hospital, 22nd April2005. (Invited talk)

> The NSW Injury Risk ManagementResearch Centre. Public Health Agency ofCanada, Ottawa, 22nd April 2005. (Invitedtalk)

> The Injury Risk Management ResearchCentre. Injury Prevention Research Unit,Otago University, Dunedin, 6th October2005. (Invited talk)

> A new framework for research leading tosports injury prevention. Injury PreventionResearch Unit, Otago University,Dunedin, 6th October 2005. (Invited talk)


> Human factors. Master of OccupationalPsychology, Macquarie University, 8th May2005. (Invited talk)

> Fatigue, arousal and performance: Currenttheory and implications for practice.Jocelyn Wales Seminar series, James CookUniversity, Cairns, 29th May 2005. (Invitedtalk)

SOUFIANE BOUFOUS

> Epidemiology of Falls. Elderly Falls Forummeeting, 4th May 2005 (Invited talk)

> Data linkage. Presentation at MotorAccidents Authority, 20th October 2005.(Invited talk)

REBECCA DENNIS

> Establishing a national tracking system forfast bowlers. Cricket Australia NationalPace Bowling Program meeting, Brisbane,6th April 2005. (Invited talk)

> Research into practice: Workload as a riskfactor for injury to cricket fast bowlers -information for coaches. Level 3 CoachingCourse, Australian Institute of Sport, 31st

July 2005. (Invited talk)

DR JULIE HATFIELD

> Engineering in practice and researchrelating to risky driving. ResearchWorkshop, Managing Injury Risk-The Roleof Engineering, 22nd July 2005. (Invitedtalk)

DR ANDREW HAYEN

> Logistic regression. Odds ratio workshop,UNSW, 14th September 2005. (Invited talk)

> Data linkage. Presentation at MotorAccidents Authority, 20th October 2005.(Invited talk)

LECTURES


> Introduction to human factors and injurybehavioural aspects. NSW IRMRC ShortCourse, 14th July 2005.

SOUFIANE BOUFOUS

> Injury Surveillance. NSW IRMRC ShortCourse, 12th July 2005.

ANNALIESE DOWLING

> Falls in the older people. NSW IRMRCShort Course, 13th July 2005.

DR ANDREW HAYEN

> Injury surveillance and documenting theburden of injury in NSW. University ofSydney, Master of Public Health Lecture,27th May 2005.

> Documenting the burden of injury in NSW.NSW IRMRC Short Course, 14th July 2005.

DR SHAUNA SHERKER

> Injury risk management in the real world -Practical exercise in playground injuryprevention. NSW IRMRC Short Course, 14th

July 2005.

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AWARDS

In 2005, IRMRC staff received the

following awards:

PROF CAROLINE FINCH

> Visiting Lecturer Award from the AlbertaHeritage Foundation for MedicalResearch, June 2005.

> NSW Sporting Injuries Committee Awardfor Best Young Investigator (Co-author):Injury Prevention. 2005 AustralianConference of Science and Medicine inSport, Melbourne, 13-16th October 2005:Eime R, Finch C, Wolfe R, Owen N,McCarty N. A controlled evaluation of asquash eyewear promotion strategy.

SOUFIANE BOUFOUS

> UNSW Bookshop Award for Excellence inResearch - Research Student.

DR JULIE HATFIELD

> Visiting Scholar Bursary from theNetherlands Organisation for ScientificResearch

> Visiting Scholar Bursary from the NationalInstitute of Public Health and theEnvironment, Netherlands.

DR SHAUNA SHERKER

> 2004 Mollie Holman Doctorate medal foroutstanding PhD thesis, MonashUniversity.

> NHMRC Public Health ResearchFellowship for 2005-2008.

NSW

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Shauna - 2004 Mollie Holman Doctorate medal award atMonash University.

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