The injury workforce in Western Australia: Findings from a cross‐sectional survey

Abstract

Issue addressed: Since 1986, injury prevention and control has been classified as a National Health Priority. However, no reviews into the injury prevention workforce have been conducted in Australia since 2011 and to date; none has focused specifically on the injury prevention and safety promotion sector in Western Australia (WA). This research sought to review the scope of the injury prevention and safety promotion workforce in WA to gain a greater understanding of sector characteristics, work and needs. Methods: An online, cross-sectional survey was conducted between mid-January and mid-March 2018. Participants were required to be: (a) based in WA or have a program running within WA; and (b) working in injury prevention and safety promotion relating to programs, policy or legislation development, implementation and/or evaluation within intentional (eg interpersonal violence, suicide and self-harm) or unintentional injuries (eg transport, poisoning, falls, drowning, burns) or farm, child and community, occupational health and safety, sport and recreation and trauma. Results: The research found that participants were predominantly female (82%), aged 40 years or older (66.1%) and were employed full time (55.6%). The majority of participants worked in falls prevention (38.5%), alcohol and other drugs (38.0%), injury in general (31.8%) and community safety (30.7%). Conclusions: Findings demonstrate significant heterogeneity with a core workforce supported by a range of non-core and indirect actors. Identifying characteristics and needs of the workforce supports coordinated capacity building to implement effective injury prevention and safety promotion initiatives. With this being the first review of the workforce in WA, this article highlights the need to more regularly audit the sector to determine its breadth and composition. So what? In the light of the recent announcement by the Commonwealth for a new national Injury Prevention Strategy, this study provides timely insights into the injury prevention and safety promotion sector in WA.

The shape of the New Zealand child injury prevention workforce

“…To our knowledge, this is the first study to understand the characteristics of the child injury prevention workforce in New Zealand and the organisations involved. The findings are consistent with a study by Jancey et al that sought to establish the characteristics of the Western Australian injury prevention and safety promotion workforce 9 . Similar to the present study, they found more than three‐quarters of respondents were female.…”

“…The questionnaire consisted of 35 questions (see Supplementary Information) and took approximately 15 minutes to complete. Where possible, items were derived or adapted from existing research 9,11-13 . The survey was piloted with three people from the injury prevention field and modified where required.…”

“…As has been noted in other areas of public health, quantifying the size and profile of the workforce can be challenging, 10 but it is a critical first step in assessing workforce capacity 11 . We found only one published Australasian study investigating the injury prevention workforce 9 . A Western Australian survey by Jancey et al of the injury prevention and safety promotion workforce identified a number of challenges associated with their roles including: limited staff and resources, funding constraints, and lack of knowledge and attitudes toward injury prevention in the community and therefore low community engagement 9 …”

“…Reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with child injury in New Zealand will require a sufficiently sized and skilled workforce. 8,9 As has been noted in other areas of public health, quantifying the size and profile of the workforce can be challenging, 10 but it is a critical first step in assessing workforce capacity. 11 We found only one published Australasian study investigating the injury prevention workforce.…”

“…9 A Western Australian survey by Jancey et al of the injury prevention and safety promotion workforce identified a number of challenges associated with their roles including: limited staff and resources, funding constraints, and lack of knowledge and attitudes toward injury prevention in the community and therefore low community engagement. 9 Safekids Aotearoa provides services that connect policymakers, educators and other New Zealand stakeholders in the sector with child injury data, trends and emerging issues and local and international research, as well as resources on evidence-based injury prevention interventions. However, Safekids Aotearoa's network of unintentional child injury prevention providers and organisations is largely informal and dispersed from a geographical, organisational and sectorial basis.…”