The utility of a safety climate scale among workers with a work-related permanent impairment who have returned to work.

Background: Safety climate (SC) is a robust leading indicator of occupational safety outcomes. There is, however, limited research on SC among workers who have returned to work with a work-related permanent impairment.

Objective: This study examined three propositions: (1) a two-level model of SC (group-level and organization-level SC) will provide the best fit to the data; (2) antecedent factors such as safety training, job demands, supervisor support, coworker support, and decision latitude will predict SC; and (3) previously reported associations between SC and outcomes such as reinjury, work-family conflict, job performance, and job security will be observed.

Self-Reported Cognitive Function and Mental Health Diagnoses among Former Professional American-Style Football Players.

Clinical practice strongly relies on patients' self-report. Former professional American-style football players are hesitant to seek help for mental health problems, but may be more willing to report cognitive symptoms. We sought to assess the association between cognitive symptoms and diagnosed mental health problems and quality of life among a cohort of former professional players.

Exposure to American Football and Neuropsychiatric Health in Former National Football League Players: Findings From the Football Players Health Study.

Background: Former American football players have a higher prevalence of cognitive impairment than that of the US general population. It remains unknown what aspects of playing football are associated with neuropsychiatric outcomes.

Hypothesis: It was hypothesized that seasons of professional football, playing position, and experience of concussions were associated with cognition-related quality of life (QOL) and indicators of depression and anxiety.

Association of Concussion Symptoms With Testosterone Levels and Erectile Dysfunction in Former Professional US-Style Football Players.

Importance: Small studies suggest that head trauma in men may be associated with low testosterone levels and sexual dysfunction through mechanisms that likely include hypopituitarism secondary to ischemic injury and pituitary axonal tract damage. Athletes in contact sports may be at risk for pituitary insufficiencies or erectile dysfunction (ED) because of the high number of head traumas experienced during their careers. Whether multiple symptomatic concussive events are associated with later indicators of low testosterone levels and ED is unknown.

The Football Players' Health Study at Harvard University: Design and objectives.

The Football Players Health Study at Harvard University (FPHS) is a unique transdisciplinary, strategic initiative addressing the challenges of former players' health after having participated in American style football (ASF). The whole player focused FPHS is designed to deepen understanding of the benefits and risks of participation in ASF, identify risks that are potentially reversible or preventable, and develop interventions or approaches to improve the health and wellbeing of former players. We are recruiting and following a cohort of former professional ASF players who played since 1960 (current n = 3785).

Mortality Among Professional American-Style Football Players and Professional American Baseball Players.

Importance: Studies of American-style football players have suggested lower overall mortality rates compared with general populations, but with possibly increased neurodegenerative mortality. However, comparisons with general populations can introduce bias. This study compared mortality between US National Football League (NFL) and US Major League Baseball (MLB) players, a more appropriate comparison group of professional athletes.

Defining Exposures in Professional Football: Professional American-Style Football Players as an Occupational Cohort.

Studies of professional American football players have shown that football-related activities lead to acute injuries and may have long-term adverse health outcomes including osteoarthritis, neurocognitive impairment, and cardiovascular disease. However, the full complement of what constitutes professional football exposure has yet to be effectively articulated. Most likely, professional football exposure encompasses a multifaceted array of experiences including head impacts and joint stresses, long-term pain medication use, dietary restrictions, and strenuous training regimens.

The impact of weather, road surface, time-of-day, and light conditions on severity of bicycle-motor vehicle crash injuries.

Background: This study examined whether environmental variables including weather, road surface, time-of-day, and light conditions were associated with the severity of injuries resulting from bicycle-motor vehicle crashes.

Methods: Using log-binomial regressions, we analyzed 113 470 police reports collected between 2000 and 2014 in four U.S.

Effect of weather on pedestrian trip count and duration: City-scale evaluations using mobile phone application data.

We examined the association between meteorological (weather) conditions in a given locale and pedestrian trips frequency and duration, through the use of locative digital data. These associations were determined for seasonality, urban microclimate, and commuting. We analyzed GPS data from a broadly available activity tracking mobile phone application that automatically recorded 247,814 trips from 5432 unique users in Boston and 257,697 trips from 8256 users in San Francisco over a 50-week period.

Circumstances of fall-related injuries by age and gender among community-dwelling adults in the United States.

Introduction: Falls are the leading cause of injury in almost all age-strata in the U.S. However, fall-related injuries (FI) and their circumstances are under-studied at the population level, particularly among young and middle-aged adults.

The role of intersection and street design on severity of bicycle-motor vehicle crashes.

Background: Safety concerns are a major barrier to cycling. Intersection and street design variables such as intersection angles and street width might contribute to the severity of crashes and the safety concerns. In this study we examined whether these design variables were associated with bicycle-motor vehicle crashes (BMVC) severity.

Age-related differences in fatal intersection crashes in the United States.

Objective: Given the aging U.S. population and resulting number of older drivers in the coming years, it is important to understand the factors leading to their involvement in vehicle crashes and develop counter-measures to reduce their frequency and severity.

Falls and Fall-Related Injuries among Community-Dwelling Adults in the United States.

Introduction: Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injuries in the U.S.; however, national estimates for all community-dwelling adults are lacking.

The direct cost burden of 13years of disabling workplace injuries in the U.S. (1998-2010): Findings from the Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index.

Introduction: Although occupational injuries are among the leading causes of death and disability around the world, the burden due to occupational injuries has historically been under-recognized, obscuring the need to address a major public health problem.

Methods: We established the Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index (LMWSI) to provide a reliable annual metric of the leading causes of the most serious workplace injuries in the United States based on direct workers compensation (WC) costs.

Results: More than $600 billion in direct WC costs were spent on the most disabling compensable non-fatal injuries and illnesses in the United States from 1998 to 2010.

Association Between Sedentary Work and BMI in a U.S. National Longitudinal Survey.

Introduction: Technological advancements have made life and work more sedentary, and long hours of sitting are known to be associated with many health concerns. Several studies have reported an association between prolonged sitting time at work and weight gain, but the results are inconsistent. This study examined the relationship between sitting time at work and BMI using data from a large prospective cohort of U.

Leisure-Time Physical Activity, Falls, and Fall Injuries in Middle-Aged Adults.

Introduction: Although exercise and strength training have been shown to be protective against falls in older adults (aged 65 years and older), evidence for the role of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in the prevention of falls and resulting injuries in middle-aged adults (aged 45-64 years) is lacking. In the present study, we investigate the association between self-reported engagement in LTPA and the frequency of falls and fall-related injuries among middle-aged and older adults, while controlling for key sociodemographic and health characteristics.

Methods: Nationally representative data from the 2010 U.

Editorial: emerging issues in sociotechnical systems thinking and workplace safety.

Unlabelled: The burden of on-the-job accidents and fatalities and the harm of associated human suffering continue to present an important challenge for safety researchers and practitioners. While significant improvements have been achieved in recent decades, the workplace accident rate remains unacceptably high. This has spurred interest in the development of novel research approaches, with particular interest in the systemic influences of social/organisational and technological factors.

Sociotechnical approaches to workplace safety: Research needs and opportunities.

Unlabelled: The sociotechnical systems perspective offers intriguing and potentially valuable insights into problems associated with workplace safety. While formal sociotechnical systems thinking originated in the 1950s, its application to the analysis and design of sustainable, safe working environments has not been fully developed. To that end, a Hopkinton Conference was organised to review and summarise the state of knowledge in the area and to identify research priorities.

A structural equation modelling approach examining the pathways between safety climate, behaviour performance and workplace slipping.

Objective: Safety climate has previously been associated with increasing safe workplace behaviours and decreasing occupational injuries. This study seeks to understand the structural relationship between employees' perceptions of safety climate, performing a safety behaviour (ie, wearing slip-resistant shoes) and risk of slipping in the setting of limited-service restaurants.

Methods: At baseline, we surveyed 349 employees at 30 restaurants for their perceptions of their safety training and management commitment to safety as well as demographic data.

Preventing slips and falls through leisure-time physical activity: findings from a study of limited-service restaurants.

Background/objective: Physical activity has been shown to be beneficial at improving health in some medical conditions and in preventing injury. Epidemiologic studies suggest that physical activity is one factor associated with a decreased risk for slips and falls in the older (≥ 65 years) adult population. While the risk of slips and falls is generally lower in younger than in older adults; little is known of the relative contribution of physical activity in preventing slips and falls in younger adults.

Duration of slip-resistant shoe usage and the rate of slipping in limited-service restaurants: results from a prospective and crossover study.

Several studies have indicated that slip-resistant shoes may have a positive effect on reducing the risk of slips and falls, a leading cause of injury at work. Few studies, however, have examined how duration of shoe usage affects their slip-resistance properties. This study examined the association between the duration of slip-resistant shoes usage and the self-reported rate of slipping in limited-service restaurant workers.

Internet and telephonic IVR mixed-mode survey for longitudinal studies: choice, retention, and data equivalency.

Purpose: This study examined data equivalency and loss to follow-up rates from Internet and interactive voice response (IVR) system surveys in a prospective-cohort study.

Methods: 475 limited-service restaurant workers participating in the 12-week study were given a choice to report their weekly slipping experience by either IVR or Internet. Demographic differences, loss to follow-up, self-reported rates of slipping, and selection of first and last choices were compared.

Does obesity contribute to non-fatal occupational injury? Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

Objectives: The relationship between obesity and occupational injuries remains unclear in the literature due to limitations in study design and sample composition. To better assess the contribution of obesity to occupational injury, we used data from a nationally representative cohort, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) in 1988-2000.

Methods: We hypothesized that obesity contributes to workplace injury and tested the hypothesis using logistic regression with generalized estimating equations (GEE) and random-effects logistic regression.