Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries indicated that of all women who die on
the job, 39% were the victims of assault, where-
as only 18% of all male fatalities were mur-
dered at work. Of the female homicides, over
three-fourths were acts of random criminal vio-
lence. Worker violence and its potential for
affecting female employees is discussed. Lastly,
the effects of relationship violence entering the
workplace are explored through the use of a
case study. InformaGon on assessment and pre-
vention techniques useful to the EAP profes-
sionals is included.
Association Between Exposure to Pulsed
Electromagnetic Fields and Cancer in
Electric Utility Workers in Quebec, Canada,
and France. B. Armstrong, G. The’riault, I!
Gut?nel, J. Deadman, M. Goldberg, & l? H&roux,
American Journal of Epidemiology, 140(9),
805-82.
The authors report the association between
exposure to pulsed electromagnetic fields
(PEMFs) and cancer in a nested case-control
study of electric utility workers in Quebec,
Canada (follow-up, 1970-1988), and France
(follow-up, 1978-1989), among whom 2,679
cases of cancer were identified. Exposures were
assessed through a job-exposure matrix based on
about 1,000 person-weeks of measurements
from exposure meters worn by workers.
Exposures were considerably higher in Quebec
than in France. No association was found
between PEMFs and cancers previously
suspected of association with magnetic fields
(leukemia, other hermatopoietic cancers, brain
cancer, or melanoma). However, there was a
clear association between cumulative exposure
to PEMFs and lung cancer, with odds ratios ris-
ing to 3.11 (95% confidence interval (CI)
1.60-6.04) in the highest exposure group (84
cases). This association was largely confined to
Quebec, where there was a monotonic exposure-
response relation with an odds ratio of 6.67
(95% CI 2.68-16.57) in the highest exposure
group (32 cases). The association is substantial
and was not explained by smoking or other
occupational exposures. However, several fac-
tors limit the strength of the evidence for a
causal relation: lack of precision in what the
meters measured; little previous evidence for
this association; and no elevated risk for lung
132
cancer in the utility workers overall in compari-
son with the general population.
Public Safety
Enhancing Label Readability for Over-
the-Counter Pharmaceuticals by Elderly
Consumers. M. S. Wogalter & D. A. Dietrich,
Proceedings of the Human Factors and
Ergonomics Society 39th Annual Meeting -
1995,143-147.
The most common information source for
over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals is the
container label. Most OTC labels contain so
much text that the print must be substantially
reduced in size to fit the available surface area.
As a consequence, people with vision problems,
such as the elderly, have diffSzulty reading the
print. Some OTC drugs are being marketed in
containers with easy-open caps to facilitate
access (but at the same time, reduce child resis-
tance). The increased surface area afforded by
the cap design could be used to enhance the
labeling. An experiment compared elders’ (mean
age of 75) evaluations to different label variants.
Experimental bottles contained additional label-
ing attached to the cap that reiterated and extend-
ed some of the most important warnings and
instructions. The additional labeling of the
experimental bottles had print that was larger
than the existing back label, and among them,
differed in background color. These bottles were
compared to two control conditions (one with the
original store-bought label and one with the back
and side labels removed.) Participants ranked the
containers on six dimensions (e.g., noticeability
of the label, willingness to read the label, will-
ingness to purchase the product). Results showed
that the participants preferred the bottles with the
additional cap labeling and most preferred the
one with the distinctive fluorescent green color.
Implications of these results are discussed.
The Role of Environmental Factors in
Causing Injury Through Falls in Public
Places. J. Fothergill, D. O’Driscoll, & K.
Hashemi, Ergonomics, 38(2), 220-223.
The physical and environmental factors lead-
ing to domestic falls in the elderly have been
Journal of Safeiy Research
assessed in many published studies; only one
includes some assessment of environmental fac-
tors causing the elderly to fall outside their
homes (Consumer Safety Unit, 1986). Many
patients of all ages attend accident and emergen-
cy (A&E) departments with injuries sustained
through such falls. This prospective study was
undertaken to determine the frequency with
which uneven surface or inadequate lighting
was thought by the patients to have contributed
to falls in public places, and to survey injuries
sustained. Two hundred and thirty-seven con-
secutive patients attending the Accident and
Emergency Department were entered into the
study, information being obtained by patient
questionnaire and from A&E records. An aver-
age of seven patients were entered into the study
each day. The ratio of women to men was l-7:1.
Patients of both sexes were most commonly
aged between 15 and 34 years, with a second
peak in women over 55 years. Two thirds of
falls occurred on pavements. Uneven surface
underfoot or inadequate street lighting was
implicated in over half the falls. Injuries were
mostly sprains and bruises, but facial lacerations
and upper limb fractures were also common.
Sixty-eight percent of fractures occurred in
women over 55 years of age. Medical follow-up
was required in 40% of all cases. Uneven
paving and inadequate lighting in public places
are potentially avoidable factors in causing falls
which lead to appreciable morbidity in large
numbers of young and elderly patients attending
A&E departments.
Pediatric Equestrian Injuries Assessing the
Impact of Helmet Use. G. R. Bond, R. A.
Christoph, h B. M. Rodgers. Pediatrik, 95(4),
487-489.
The objective of this study is to assess the
impact of helmet use on the pattern, and severity
of pediatric equestrian injuries. The design con-
sists of a prospective observational study of all
children less than 15 years of age who were
brought to the University of Virginia children’s
Emergency Department with horse-related
injuries. During the 2-year period of the study,
32 children were evaluated. Two children were
injured when a horse stepped on them. Thirty
children fell from or were thrown from a horse.
Of these, 20 were wearing a helmet. Head
Summer 19%/Wolume 27hVunber 2 I33
injuries were more frequent in those patients not
wearing helmets. The mean Modified Injury
Severity Scale (MISS) score for riders without a
helmet (12.9) was significantly higher (more
severe) than that for helmeted riders (2.8). All
three patients with a Glascow Coma Score ~15
on arrival were not wearing a helmet at the time
of injury. The frequency of hospitalization was
significantly higher for those not wearing a hel-
met. Compared with other common mechanisms
of childhood injury the mean Modified Injury
Severity Scale score of injured riders was
exceeded only by that of pedestrians struck by a
car. Equestrian injuries are more severe than
those suffered from other common pediatric
mechanisms. Helmet use is associated with
decreased frequency and severity of central ner-
vous system injury.
Psychosocial Factors Associated With the Use
of Bicycle Helmets Among Children in
Counties With and Without Helmet Use
Laws. A. Carlson Gielen, A. Joffe, A, L.
Dannenberg, M. E. H. Wilson, I! L. Beilenson,
& M. DeBoer, Journal of Pediatrics, 124,
204-210.
We examined the extent to which psychoso-
cial factors, in addition to the presence of a law,
are associated with the use of bicycle helmets. A
mailed questionnaire was completed by 3,494
children in fourth, seventh, and ninth grades in
three Maryland counties: Howard County,
which had a law requiring child bicyclishs to
wear helmets and an educational campaign;
Montgomery County, which had an educational
campaign but no law; and Baltimore County,
which had neither. Overall, 19% of the respon-
dents reported having worn a bicycle helmet on
their most recent ride. In a multiple logistic
regression, children’s use of helmets in all three
counties was significantly associated with their
beliefs about the social consequences of wearing
helmets and the extent to which their friends
wear helmets. Significant interactions were also
found, suggesting that in the presence of a law,
an educational campaign, or both, children’s use
of helmets was associated more with social con-
cerns than with parental influences or cognitive
factors, such as beliefs about the need for hel-
mets or perceptions of risk. To increase helmet
use, the issues of stylishness, comfort, and