Hot surface temperatures of domestic appliances

Background Domestic appliances are burning people. In the European Union, accidents requiring hospital treatment due to burns from hot objects account for between 0 and 1% of all such accidents. Young children are particularly at risk. These reported accidents requiring hospital treatment are also likely to be a small proportion of the total number of burns from hot objects. Research method There is a lack of hard evidence about the level of accidents, typical consumer expectation and use, and on the state of the art of appliances. Results of technical laboratory tests carried out on products are used to demonstrate the state of the art and also show how consumer expectations could be changing. Results of a survey into accidents, based on a written questionnaire following telephone contact, provide information on non-hospital cases. Results Results of tests on products show that there are significant differences in the temperatures of touchable surfaces, even in products of the same type. Typically, these differences are due to variations in design and/or materials of construction. Some products are hot enough to burn skin. Accident research indicates that non-hospital medical practices are treating burn injuries, which are therefore not being included into the current accident statistics. Conclusions ? For products with the same function, some types of design or materials of construction are safer, with lower surface temperatures. Many product standards have no or unnecessarily high limits on surface temperatures. ? Many standards do not address the realities of who is using their products, for what purpose or where they are located. Some standards use unreasonable general limitations and exclusions that allow products with higher surface temperatures than they should have. ? Many standards rely on the experience factor for avoiding injury that is no longer valid, with the increased availability of safer products of the same type. A major field of work ahead is to carry out more surveys and in-depth studies of non-fatal accidents and injuries.     

Reaching those at highest risk to fires and burns: Young children,older adults,and people in low-income communities

Injury specialists have not successfully convinced policy makers and the public that injuries can be controlled. That failure may be due in part to the lack of a unified understanding of injury control. The two most important models utilized in injury control are Haddon's Matrix1 and the Public Health Approach (PHA). This paper argues that the PHA should be combined with the two axes of Haddon's Matrix to result in a model that is coherent and comprehensive. Thus it is better than either one of the original models on their own. Haddon's Matrix has two axes. The first includes elements of the epidemiological triad, host, vector, and environment and likens injury to disease. The second axis includes three time intervals, pre-event, event, and post-event. The importance of including time was that injury was conceptualized as predictable and preventable. The weakness of Haddon's matrix is that it lacks a systematic plan of action. The Public Health Approach is a methodology for addressing injury, which consists of a hierarchy of four levels; surveillance, risk factor identification, intervention evaluation and program implementation. The use of the PHA with no specific orientation or means of application is its weakness. The PHA lacks a systematic point of application. Haddon's Matrix lacks a systematic action plan. Therefore we propose the PHA as the systematic strategy for the more theoretical framework of Haddon's matrix. By combining these concepts a coherent and comprehensive three-dimensional framework is defined. The unified model closes the potential gaps in the two original models and includes a systematic approach not previously achieved. This unified model is practical in defining individual studies and groups of studies. It can be used as an inventory, for a complete understanding of a particular injury. Diagrams of the model are presented to help teach the concepts of injury described in this unitary model. In conclusion, we can say that the inclusion of three injury concepts in one framework provides a rigorous and coherent construct for the understanding of injury and implementation of control activities. It can therefore be used to design more comprehensive programs for injury control and promote policies and funding commensurate with the magnitude of the injury problem.     

Road traffic crashes with fatal and non-fatal injuries in Arkhangelsk,Russia in 2005–2010

The study investigated trends in traffic crashes with fatal and non-fatal injuries in Arkhangelsk, Russia in 2005–2010. Data were obtained from the road police. Negative binomial regression with time regressor was used to investigate trends in monthly incidence rates (IRs) of crashes, fatalities, and non-fatal injuries. During the six-year period, the police registered 4955 crashes with fatal and non-fatal injuries, which resulted in 217 fatalities and 5964 non-fatal injury cases. The IR of crashes with fatal and non-fatal injuries per total population showed no evident change, while the IR per increasing total number of motor vehicles decreased on average by 0.6% per month. Pedestrian crashes constituted 51.8% of studied crashes, and pedestrians constituted 54.6% of fatalities and 44.5% of non-fatal injuries. The IRs of pedestrian crashes and non-fatal pedestrian injuries per total population decreased on average by 0.3% per month, and these were the major trends in the data.     

A review of traffic safety status in Abu Dhabi city,UAE (2008–2013)

Large numbers of traffic accidents were experienced on the road networks of Arab Gulf Countries including United Arab Emirates (UAE). This had resulted in enormous loss of lives and economy. This article through using Abu Dhabi city, UAE capital as a case study is aiming to understand the reasons behind such safety problem through analysing a large accidents data-set extending over the period from 2008 to 2013. The traffic accidents data-set was obtained from Abu Dhabi traffic police department records and covers wide range of accident's attributes. A wide spectrum of accident attributes was analysed in the paper including but not limited to the time of accident, accident location, type of accident, reasons behind the accident, driver characteristics, road conditions, and many other accident attributes. A specific reasoning for each of these attributes was given by authors. Furthermore, recommendations to enhance the safety levels were introduced.     

基于面板数据的都市圈竞争力评价模型

"十一五"规划把长三角、津京冀、成渝地区、东北地区等跨省区的经济区发展纳入国家层次的规划,列入"政策关照区",四川和重庆将迎来新的历史发展机遇。本文在国内外学者对都市圈竞争力研究的基础上,提出了都市圈竞争力的评价指标体系和基于面板数据的评价模型,并进一步对长三角、珠三角、津京冀与成渝都市圈的比较研究分析提出了思路。     

Estimation of traffic accident costs: a prompted model

Traffic accidents are the reason for 25% of unnatural deaths in Iran. The main objective of this study is to find a simple model for the estimation of economic costs especially in Islamic countries (like Iran) in a straightforward manner. The model can show the magnitude of traffic accident costs with monetary equivalent. Data were collected from different sources that included traffic police records, insurance companies and hospitals. The conceptual framework, in our study, was based on the method of Ayati. He used this method for the estimation of economic costs in Iran. We promoted his method via minimum variables. Our final model has only three available variables which can be taken from insurance companies and police records. The running model showed that the traffic accident costs were US$2.2 million in 2007 for our case study route.     

News and Events

Our aim is to report the findings of the initial three years of road traffic injuries (RTI) surveillance at Karachi and to compare it with previously published RTI-related data from Pakistan and other low-and middle-income countries. Data were collected through the RTI surveillance programme at Karachi (RTIRP) from the five biggest emergency departments of the city, which receive almost all the major emergencies of the city for the period September 2006 till September 2009. A total of 99,272 victims were enlisted by the RTIRP during the study period. Annual incidence of RTI is calculated to be 184.3 per 100,000 populations and mortality is 5.7 per 100,000 populations. Eighty nine per cent of victims are male and 73% are between 15 and 44 years of age. Commonest road user to be affected is riders of two wheelers (45%). Only 7% of affected motorcyclists were found to be wearing helmets at the time of the accident. Trends of injuries remained uniform over the years. Most frequent injuries were external wounds, followed by orthopaedic injuries. On the basis of our surveillance system, we have presented the largest RTI-related data from a metropolitan city of Pakistan to date.     

A qualitative approach to the intangible cost of road traffic injuries

The consequences of fatal and non-fatal road traffic injuries (RTI) at the personal and household levels were analysed using qualitative interviews of 12 injured and of 12 relatives of people who died for this reason. Collisions change physical and mental health both of the injured and of their relatives. This leads to changes in daily activities and even to the redefinition of future life. RTI also changes the way people see and act in life, becoming an experience that teaches them. Survivors commonly transmit a road safety message afterwards. Changes in family life were evident (in extreme cases family's composition also changed), affecting intra-familial relationships. Associated unexpected and unplanned expenditures and loss of income have consequences in the short, medium and long term that unbalance household's economies and immerse people into a constant stress. Individuals and family's future plans are occasionally condition to whether they have or not debts. Household dependence in economic terms was sometimes observed, as well as uncertainty about future life and household's sustainability. Sometimes, households change and adapt their life to what they now are able to afford, having important repercussions in vital spheres.     

Environmental risk factors contributing to traffic accidents in children: a case-control study

The aim of this study is to identify environmental risk factors related to road accidents in children of Tehran. This case-control study was performed in 2013. The cases were injured pedestrians aged 5–15 who were admitted to major hospitals supervised by Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The sample size for the cases was 273 and for the control group was 546. For the completeness of the clusters, 7 extra persons in case (total = 280) and 14 persons (total = 560) in control group were included. The interference of confounding variables assessed through forward conditional logistic regression. Result shows occurrence of traffic accidents was significantly associate with the width of the alleys or (<5 m: OR = 8.4, 95% CI: 3.3–21.5; 5–8 m: OR = 4.7, 95% CI: 1.8–12.2), distance from home to school((<100 m: OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.0–2.8), existence of parking lot (OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0–2.3), traffic congestion (OR = 4.1, 95% CI: 2.6–6.4), traffic speed (OR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.3–3.2) and existence of pedestrian bridges(OR = 4.2, 95% CI: 2.6–6.8). In the light of the important role of environmental factors in the occurrence of child traffic accidents, alleviating structural risk factors in addition to education and enforcement need more systematic efforts and planning by policymakers and urban planners to attain pedestrian safety goals.     

Evaluating performance of a Lead Road Safety Agency (LRSA) in a low-income country: a case study from Pakistan

The World Health Organization recommends identifying a Lead Road Safety Agency (LRSA) within the government to coordinate preventive interventions. As LRSAs in developing countries have rarely been evaluated, this case study describes the performance of the LRSA of Pakistan with respect to the World Bank criteria. The designated LRSA, the National Road Safety Secretariat, was put into operation in 2006 and worked for about two years with World Bank funding. The agency had a stand-alone structure headed by an experienced road safety specialist during the first year only and faced difficulty in recruiting other required experts. The LRSA drafted the first National Road Safety Plan, including strategic review of road safety and existing legislation, articulated multisectorial collaboration nationally and provincially, and collected traffic injury data in some districts. Its progress was halted by its dissolution because of funding problems. Currently, two agencies specialising in traffic enforcement and transport research respectively are fulfilling LRSA functions on an ad-hoc basis. Results suggest that sustainability and consistency of LRSAs in developing countries like Pakistan may only be ensured if they are legally protected, inter-ministerial, have permanent funding and are provided with the required expertise through international cooperation, so they can perform their required functions effectively.     

Knowledge,beliefs and attitudes of squash venue operators relating to use of protective eyewear

Sports venues are in a position to potentially influence the safety practices of their patrons. This study examined the knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of venue operators that could influence the use of protective eyewear by squash players. A 50% random sample of all private and public squash venues affiliated with the Victorian Squash Federation in metropolitan Melbourne was selected. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 15 squash venue operators during August 2001. Interviews were transcribed and content and thematic analyses were performed. The content of the interviews covered five topics: (1) overall injury risk perception, (2) eye injury occurrence, (3) knowledge, behaviors, attitudes and beliefs associated with protective eyewear, (4) compulsory protective eyewear and (5) availability of protective eyewear at venues. Venue operators were mainly concerned with the severe nature of eye injuries, rather than the relatively low incidence of these injuries. Some venue operators believed that players should wear any eyewear, rather than none at all, and believed that more players should use protective eyewear. Generally, they did not believe that players with higher levels of experience and expertise needed to wear protective eyewear when playing. Only six venues had at least one type of eyewear available for players to hire or borrow or to purchase. Operators expressed a desire to be informed about correct protective eyewear. Appropriate protective eyewear is not readily available at squash venues. Better-informed venue operators may be more likely to provide suitable protective eyewear.