HEA 101: Health and Society

Section # 2

Lecture – 4
Health and Safety Part I: Personal Health

September 25
Autumn 2019
 Outline
• Overview
• Most Frequent Causes of Deaths and Injuries
• Accident
• Legal View
• Quality View
• Private View
• Personal Safety
• Injuries
• Keys to Accident Prevention
• Your Role in Safety
• Who is responsible for your personal safety?
 Overview
• Globally, more than nine people die every minute from
injuries or violence—that’s 5.8 million people of all ages and
economic groups who die each year from both unintentional
and violence related injuries.

• The three leading causes of injury and violence-related deaths

are road traffic incidents (1.3 million), suicides (844,000), and
homicides (600,000).

• In addition, millions of people seek medical treatment due to

injuries and violence.
• Violence can result in serious injuries and even death, but
may also lead to other significant mental and physical health
consequences such as depression and anxiety, pregnancy
complications, and even chronic diseases such as diabetes and
heart disease.

• Violence also erodes the sense of safety and security so

essential to the well-being of families and communities.
Most Frequent Causes of Deaths and Injuries

Injury Deaths
Overexertion Motor vehicle related
Impact accidents Falls
Falls Electrical current
Bodily reaction to chemicals Drowning
Compression Fire related
Motor vehicle accidents Air transport related
Exposure to radiation/caustics Poison
Rubbing or abrasions Water transport related
Exposure to extreme temperatures Other
 Accident: A sudden, unplanned event
which has the potential for producing injury or
damage.
Safety experts concentrate their efforts in two general areas:

• Accident Prevention • Accident Mitigation

– Education – Procedures
– Training – Safety Equipment
– Personal Awareness – Proper Tools
Individuals must continually recognize the
four factors that play a major role in the
safe performance of an activity:
• The difficulty of the activity.
• The ability level required.
– Expertise
– Physical limitations.

• The immediate state of the technician.

– Physiological
– Psychological

• The condition of the environment.

 Accidents Always Have Causes

• Accidents don’t “just happen”

• Accidents always have causes
• Accidents always can be prevented
• For every accident reported, there are 600 near-
misses
 Legal View
• Safety is based on laws
• Legislation protects individuals and organizations
against various safety hazards
• Security is the function to protect people and
property
 Quality View
• There are incidents that cause disturbance in life
• Security mean preventing such incidents
• Security means changing target from correction to
prevention
• Security is prevention by designing processes and
conditions
 Private View

• Prevention of surprise negative incidents

• A protection of health and property
• Economical continuity
• Safety is not rational but emotions
 Personal Safety
Essential Questions
1. What does it mean to be safety conscious?
2. How does knowing first aid help you to be
prepared?
 Personal Safety
Understanding
1. Many accidents can be avoided by being safety
conscious and paying attention to your surroundings.
2. Safety in the neighborhood includes avoiding trouble
and being aware of danger.
3. Knowing basic first aid can help you be prepared in
case of emergencies.
4. Serious injuries, such as fractures and third-degree
burns, require immediate medical attention.
• At the regional level, Asia has the highest direct costs
attributable to road traffic injuries at $24.5 billion.

• Direct costs: Medical care, hospitalization,

rehabilitation and funeral.

• Indirect costs: Lost wages, sick leave from work,

disability payments, insurance payouts, and costs
associated with family care.
 Injuries

• Intentional injury – inflicted on purpose.

• Unintentional injury – inflicted by accident.

• In both cases, there is a risk of harm and death.

• Injuries are caused by a combination of human and
environmental factors.

• Human factors: inner conditions or attitudes.

• Environmental factors: external conditions or

circumstances.
• Motor vehicle injuries:
– Speeding
– Aggressive driving
– Fatigue and sleepiness
– Alcohol and other drugs
– Safety belts, air bags, and child safety seats
• Increasing use of motor vehicles.

• Unsafe two-wheeled vehicles are common.

• Insufficient addition to road planning, design, engineering,

signage and traffic management.

• Lax enforcement of speed limits.

• Less use of helmets and infant seats.

• Home injuries
– Falls
– Fires
– Poisoning
– Suffocation and choking
– Firearms
• Leisure injuries: injuries caused by activities during free
time.
– Misuse of equipment
– Lack of experience and skill
– Use of alcohol and other drugs
– Failure to use appropriate safety equipment

• Work injuries
– Back injuries
– Repetitive stress injuries
 Keys to Accident Prevention

• Think about what you are doing!

• Pay attention to signs, labels & tags.
• Wear the right PPE (Personal Protection Equipment).
• Read the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for each
“material” you use.
• Practice good housekeeping.
• Use proper lifting techniques.
 Your Role in Safety

• It’s essential that each person takes an active role in

staying safe.
• This means always being aware of the consequences of
choosing to take unsafe actions.
• No matter how many times you’ve done something, it’s
critical to observe each and every safety step.
• You are the most important element in living and
working safely.
• Accidents are caused by unsafe conditions and by
people committing unsafe acts.
• Knowledge and training help keep people from
committing unsafe acts.
• When an accident occurs, there will be:
– Accident Response
– Accident Investigation, and
– Corrective Actions
• You are the key to accident prevention.
• What is the state of personal safety in Bangladesh
at present?
• In general is very poor.

• Lack of monitoring and enforcement

• Lack of knowledge and awareness
• Lack of logistic support and training
• Lack of willingness to change
• The following are common:

– Driving by untrained, unskilled and illiterate drivers

– Driving without seatbelts and helmets
– Overloading of mass transports
– Construction work without safety equipment
– Construction with substandard materials
– Industrial work without proper precautions
– Household work without due attention and care
– Unsupervised children (more common)
• What steps can be taken?

– Education and Awareness

– Training Programs
– Penalties / Fines (proportional to the offence)
• Mild, Moderate, Severe? [How to define?]
– Incentives (monetary, others)

• Do people really want to be “safety conscious”?

 Recommended Reading
• Chapter 13 “Unintentional Injuries”
Global Health 101 Second Edition
Richard Skolnik

pg. 301 – 312

 Next Class
• Health and Safety Part II: Occupational Health