Engaging Physicians in Improvement Priorities Through the American Board of Medical Specialties Portfolio Program.

Background: Physician involvement in quality improvement and patient safety (QIPS) work is critical for success. It is often difficult to engage physicians in this work given competing priorities and lack of individual benefits for participation.

Program Inception And Development: The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Portfolio Program was created to establish a systematic process for review and approval of health care organizations' implementation of QIPS work and that allows organizations to offer continuing certification credit to physicians who meaningfully engage in that same work.

Practice Adjustments Made by Family Physicians During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic-related health care disruptions necessitated rapid adaptation among family physicians to safely meet patient needs while protecting themselves and their staff. On April 1, 2020, the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) introduced a COVID Performance Improvement (PI) activity for physicians to report on and receive Family Medicine certification credit for practice adjustments they made during the early stages of the pandemic. We aimed to understand the types of interventions implemented, and lessons physicians learned from the efforts.

The musculoskeletal and cognitive effects of under-desk cycling compared to sitting for office workers.

Alternate work positions are being considered as a way to address sedentary behaviour for office workers. This study evaluated the effect of two hours of just-sitting versus sitting while under-desk cycling on musculoskeletal discomfort and cognitive function (sustained attention and creative problem solving). To consider mechanisms, muscle fatigue, kinematics and mental state were also measured.

Drowsiness and driving performance on commuter trips.

Introduction: Driver fatigue is a major road safety problem. While much is known about the effects of fatigue and the factors that contribute to it, fatigue on commuter trips has received comparatively little attention in road safety. Most interventions have focused on longer trips, while investigations of commuting have typically examined particular groups, such as shift workers.

The Short Term Musculoskeletal and Cognitive Effects of Prolonged Sitting During Office Computer Work.

Office workers are exposed to high levels of sedentary time. In addition to cardio-vascular and metabolic health risks, this sedentary time may have musculoskeletal and/or cognitive impacts on office workers. Participants (n = 20) undertook two hours of laboratory-based sitting computer work to investigate changes in discomfort and cognitive function (sustained attention and problem solving), along with muscle fatigue, movement and mental state.

Musculoskeletal and Cognitive Effects of a Movement Intervention During Prolonged Standing for Office Work.

Objective: To investigate whether use of a movement intervention when undertaking prolonged standing affected discomfort and cognitive function.

Background: Alternate work positions to break up prolonged sitting for office workers are being trialed, such as standing. Prolonged standing has potential negative health implications, including low back and lower limb discomfort, and may influence cognitive function.

The effects of training impulse control on simulated driving.

There is growing interest in young driver training that addresses age-related factors, including incompletely developed impulse control. Two studies investigated whether training of response inhibition can reduce risky simulated driving in young drivers (aged 16-24 years). Each study manipulated aspects of response inhibition training then assessed transfer of training using simulated driving measures including speeding, risky passing, and compliance with traffic controls.

A detailed description of the short-term musculoskeletal and cognitive effects of prolonged standing for office computer work.

Due to concerns about excessive sedentary exposure for office workers, alternate work positions such as standing are being trialled. However, prolonged standing may have health and productivity impacts, which this study assessed. Twenty adult participants undertook two hours of laboratory-based standing computer work to investigate changes in discomfort and cognitive function, along with muscle fatigue, movement, lower limb swelling and mental state.

Theory versus practice in the human factors and ergonomics discipline: Trends in journal publications from 1960 to 2010.

The research-practice gap has been highlighted as a barrier to effective practice in human factors and ergonomics (HFE). There is also evidence of a theory-research gap that may be limiting the scientific evidence base of HFE. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in journal publications, especially relating to the research-practice gap and the involvement of theory over time.

Application of classification principles to improve the reliability of incident classification systems: A test case using HFACS-ADF.

Accident classification systems are important tools for safety management. Unfortunately, many of the tools available have demonstrated poor reliability of coding, making their validity and usefulness questionable. This paper demonstrates the application of four strategies to improve the reliability of accident and incident classification systems.

An examination of the relationship between measures of impulsivity and risky simulated driving amongst young drivers.

The risky driving of young drivers may owe in part to youthful motivations (such as experience-seeking, authority rebellion, desire for peer approval) combined with incompletely developed impulse control. Although self-reported impulsiveness has been positively associated with self-reports of risky driving, results based on objective measures of response inhibition (e.g.

Application of a human factors classification framework for patient safety to identify precursor and contributing factors to adverse clinical incidents in hospital.

This study aimed to identify temporal precursor and associated contributing factors for adverse clinical incidents in a hospital setting using the Human Factors Classification Framework (HFCF) for patient safety. A random sample of 498 clinical incidents were reviewed. The framework identified key precursor events (PE), contributing factors (CF) and the prime causes of incidents.

High alcohol use a strong and significant risk factor for repetitive self-harm in female and male youth: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Deliberate self-harm (DSH) is reported by between 5 and 17% of youth aged 14-25 years. Current management measures focus on repetition prevention in high-risk groups.

Objectives: To examine risk factors and predictors of DSH and DSH repetition in a community sample, by gender.

Development of safety incident coding systems through improving coding reliability.

This paper reviews classification theory sources to develop five research questions concerning factors associated with incident coding system development and use and how these factors affect coding reliability. Firstly, a method was developed to enable the comparison of reliability results obtained using different methods. Second, a statistical and qualitative review of reliability studies was conducted to investigate the influence of the identified factors on the reliability of incident coding systems.

Data linkage capabilities in Australia: practical issues identified by a Population Health Research Network 'Proof of Concept project'.

Objective: To describe the practical issues that need to be overcome to conduct national data linkage projects in Australia and propose recommendations to improve efficiency.

Methods: Review of the processes, documentation and applications required to conduct national data linkage in Australia.

Results: The establishment of state and national data linkage centres in Australia has placed Australia at the forefront of research linking health-related administrative data collections.

Sacred cow gone to pasture: a systematic evaluation and integration of evidence-based practice.

Background: Sacred cows (SC) are old habits in practice, considered routine and above dispute, regardless of evidence to the contrary.

Purpose: This is the first known report that aims to conduct a systematic evaluation of practices that have been described in the literature as SC and strategies for planned implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP).

Methods: A large, complex, academic medical center department of nursing compared SC to EBP.

Are drivers aware of sleepiness and increasing crash risk while driving?

Drivers are advised to take breaks when they feel too tired to drive, but there is question over whether they are able to detect increasing fatigue and sleepiness sufficiently to decide when to take a break. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which drivers have access to cognitive information about their current state of sleepiness, likelihood of falling asleep, and the implications for driving performance and the likelihood of crashing. Ninety drivers were recruited to do a 2h drive in a driving simulator.

What do human factors and ergonomics professionals value in research publications? Re-examining the research-practice gap.

The research-practice gap is of concern in human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) as there is a belief that HF/E research may not be making an impact on practice in the 'real world'. A potential issue is what researchers and practitioners perceive as important in HF/E journal articles as a primary means of conveying research findings to practitioners. This study examined the characteristics that make scientific journal articles appeal to HF/E researchers and practitioners using a web-based survey.

The role of sleepiness, sleep disorders, and the work environment on heavy-vehicle crashes in 2 Australian states.

Heavy-vehicle driving involves a challenging work environment and a high crash rate. We investigated the associations of sleepiness, sleep disorders, and work environment (including truck characteristics) with the risk of crashing between 2008 and 2011 in the Australian states of New South Wales and Western Australia. We conducted a case-control study of 530 heavy-vehicle drivers who had recently crashed and 517 heavy-vehicle drivers who had not.

Risk factors for unintentional poisoning in children aged 1-3 years in NSW Australia: a case-control study.

Background: Unintentional poisoning in young children is an important public health issue. Age pattern studies have demonstrated that children aged 1-3 years have the highest levels of poisoning risk among children aged 0-4 years, yet little research has been conducted regarding risk factors specific to this three-year age group and the methodologies employed varied greatly. The purpose of the current study is to investigate a broad range of potential risk factors for unintentional poisoning in children aged 1-3 years using appropriate methodologies.

Sleep-deprived young drivers and the risk for crash: the DRIVE prospective cohort study.

Importance: Short sleep duration is common in adolescents and young adults, and short sleep duration is a risk factor for motor vehicle crash.

Objective: To assess the association between hours of sleep and the risk for motor vehicle crash, including the time of day of crash and types of crash (single, multiple vehicle, run off road, and intersection).

Design: Prospective cohort study.

The effect of external non-driving factors, payment type and waiting and queuing on fatigue in long distance trucking.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to explore the effects of external influences on long distance trucking, in particular, incentive-based remuneration systems and the need to wait or queue to load or unload on driver experiences of fatigue.

Methods: Long distance truck drivers (n=475) were recruited at truck rest stops on the major transport corridors within New South Wales, Australia and asked to complete a survey by self-administration or interview. The survey covered demographics, usual working arrangements, details of the last trip and safety outcomes including fatigue experiences.

Leading causes of injury hospitalisation in children aged 0-4 years in New South Wales by injury submechanism: a brief profile by age and sex.

Aim: To identify the leading causes of injury in children aged 0-4 years by single year of age using injury submechanisms and present a brief epidemiologic profile of each cause.

Methods: Hospitalisation data for New South Wales from 1999 to 2009 were used to identify the leading causes of injury for children aged 0-4 years by single year of age. For each leading cause, rates over time and by sex were calculated by single year of age.