Evaluating a novel sign's impact on whether park visitors enter a dangerous river.

Background: Between 1972 and 2015, 56 visitors to the two national parks that border the Potomac River Gorge experienced fatal drowning. In 2016, the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP), and the Chesapeake and Ohio National Historical Park (CHOH) partnered with a researcher to see if enhancement of their risk communication strategies could reduce behaviors that contribute to these deaths.

Methods: An experimental sign, which informed visitors that water entry was illegal and could result in a fine exceeding $200 was developed, and displayed on alternating weekend days from July 30 to September 11, 2016.

Patterns of behaviour that pose potential drowning risk to hikers at Yosemite National Park.

Primary Objective: To analyse patterns of departure from a popular hiking trail in Yosemite National Park, at sites where fatal drownings have occurred in the past.

Methods: This study employed direct observation. For 32 days throughout the summer of 2013, study team members observed hikers who entered areas that brought them in close proximity to hazardous sections of the Merced River.

Understanding hikers who approached a hazardous river in Yosemite National Park.

Objectives: To understand the perceptions and motivations of hikers who approached a swift river at locations that have been associated with drowning in the past.

Methods: A survey was completed by 399 adults who had been observed getting 'too close' to the Merced River. The questionnaire covered trail familiarity, information sources, timing and motivation of their decision, perceived safety, knowledge and opinion of park rules.

Gauging popular support for traffic safety in the United States.

Background: Recent concerns have been raised about the United States' "Traffic Safety Culture." While the "safety culture" construct has been studied in occupational settings, it appears that no assessments of national traffic safety culture have been published in the scientific literature.

Purpose: To assess whether current public attitudes and behaviors support traffic safety advancement in the United States.

Towards operationalising and measuring the Traffic Safety Culture construct.

The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of traffic safety culture (TSC) by identifying its constituent components. A review of existing safety culture literature was conducted. Next, 18 international experts participated in a Delphi Technique to rate candidate TSC components.

'It was a freak accident': an analysis of the labelling of injury events in the US press.

Objectives: Given that the news media shape our understanding of health issues, a study was undertaken to examine the use by the US media of the expression 'freak accident' in relation to injury events. This analysis is intended to contribute to the ongoing consideration of lay conceptualisation of injuries as 'accidents'.

Methods: LexisNexis Academic was used to search three purposively selected US news sources (Associated Press, New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer) for the expression 'freak accident' over 5 years (2005-9).

Evaluation of a brief intervention designed to increase CPR training among pregnant pool owners.

This study evaluated whether a brief videotape could motivate pregnant pool owners to be trained in infant/child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Women were recruited from prenatal classes in South Florida. Eligible volunteers were randomized to view a video or receive standard treatment, after completing a questionnaire.

An exploratory study of the relationship between socioeconomic status and motor vehicle safety features.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the association between motor vehicle owners' socioeconomic status (SES) and the safety of their motor vehicles.

Methods: Truncated vehicle identification numbers (VINs) were obtained from the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration office. ZIP code-level income and educational data were assigned to each VIN.

A systematic process to prioritize prevention activities sustaining progress toward the reduction of military injuries.

Background: To sustain progress toward injury reduction and other health promotion goals, public health organizations need a systematic approach based on data and an evaluation of existing scientific evidence on prevention. This paper describes a process and criteria developed to systematically and objectively define prevention program and policy priorities.

Methods: Military medical surveillance data were obtained and summarized, and a working group of epidemiology and injury experts was formed.

Epidemiology of burn injuries II: psychiatric and behavioural perspectives.

Modern technological advances have decreased the incidence and severity of burn injuries, and medical care improvements of burn injuries have significantly increased survival rates, particularly in developed countries. Still, fire-related burn injuries are responsible for 300,000 deaths and 10 million disability-adjusted life years lost annually worldwide. The extent to which psychiatric and behavioural factors contribute to the incidence and outcomes of these tragedies has not been systematically documented, and the available data is often insufficient to reach definitive conclusions.

Airline passengers' alcohol use and its safety implications.

Background: This investigation was designed to identify individual and contextual factors associated with airline passengers' alcohol use, and to explore potentially dangerous in-flight alcohol consumption.

Methods: Passengers waiting to board 24 domestic flights at an international airport in the South Atlantic United States were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire. Eighty percent of those approached agreed to participate.

Usual seat belt practices reported by airline passengers surveyed in gate areas of a U.S. airport.

Introduction: Most people who are seriously injured or die as a result of air turbulence were not wearing seat belts, yet we find no published studies of airline passengers' seat belt use. Drawing from the traffic safety literature, we explored characteristics that might be associated with passenger restraint use on planes.

Methods: The study was conducted at a major U.

Advice from bereaved parents: on forming partnerships for injury prevention.

We set out to learn whether, and how, parents of children who were fatally injured want to collaborate with injury prevention professionals. In this exploratory study, interviews were conducted with parents who had been identified through medical examiner files. Only a small minority of those we contacted chose to participate.

A qualitative study of post-settlement influences on State tobacco control funding.

State settlements with the tobacco industry increased the availability of funds that might be used for improving health outcomes and increased scrutiny of tobacco control funding overall. This research identified potential explanatory factors for state tobacco control funding and developed a conceptual framework to guide further exploration. Key informant interviews with 14 tobacco policy professionals were conducted to augment the information available in the scientific literature on funding influences.

Parents of fatally injured children discuss taking part in prevention campaigns: an exploratory study.

This qualitative study explores how a small group of parents who have lost children to accidental injuries feel about taking part in prevention campaigns. Prospective participants were identified through a state medical examiner's office. Six mothers and 5 fathers of children who had died 3-5 years earlier agreed to be interviewed.

The effectiveness of injury prevention strategies: what does the public believe?

This article is based on a random digit dialed telephone survey in which adults were asked to name effective strategies for preventing deaths due to motor vehicle crashes, falls, drowning, fires/burns, and poisoning. A majority of the 943 respondents could name prevention techniques, although they were least likely to do so for fatal falls. Participants at highest risk for not naming a countermeasure were those with fewer years of education.

How readable are child safety seat installation instructions?

Objectives: To measure the required reading level of a sample of child safety seat (CSS) installation instructions and to compare readability levels among different prices of CSSs to determine whether the lower cost seats to which low-income parents have greater access are written to a lower level of education.

Methods: A CD-ROM containing CSS installation instructions was obtained from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Pricing information was obtained for available models from an Internet-based company that provides comparative shopping information.

Alcohol's contribution to fatal injuries: a report on public perceptions.

Study Objective: We determine whether members of the public understand that alcohol contributes to each of the leading causes of unintentional-injury death in the United States and not just to motor vehicle-related fatalities. Public opinions of selected alcohol control policies were also assessed.

Methods: We used a national telephone survey of 943 adults, who were selected by random-digit dialing techniques.