Abstract
Aim: To establish a contemporary, military-specific, injury pyramid to inform injury risk management
Design: Literature review with quantitative synthesis.
Method: Recent reports documenting primary and secondary analyses of recorded injury rates, levels of injury severity, and levels of reporting and non- or under-reporting of injuries in Australian and United States military populations were gathered and reviewed. Key data were extracted and synthesised to develop a contemporary military-specific injury pyramid for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) that could inform future injury risk management.
Results: The estimated ratio of fatalities: serious injuries: minor/ moderate injuries was 1: 62: 19550. Evidence indicates that half of the minor/ moderate injuries may go unreported and be self-managed, and that another 45% of minor/moderate injuries may be reported to ADF healthcare providers but not to work health and safety incident reporting systems. Top reasons for non-reporting include: fear of career impacts; avoiding duty-limiting medical profiles; inconvenience of seeking treatment; and avoiding negative perceptions from others.
Conclusion: Estimates of unreported injuries should be considered alongside reported injuries when estimating military injury risks. There a range of reasons military personnel do not report and instead selfmanage their injuries. Understanding this assists in more accurately assessing injury risks and ensuring
injury management (or self-management) is optimised and risks associated with injury self-management are well-managed.
Design: Literature review with quantitative synthesis.
Method: Recent reports documenting primary and secondary analyses of recorded injury rates, levels of injury severity, and levels of reporting and non- or under-reporting of injuries in Australian and United States military populations were gathered and reviewed. Key data were extracted and synthesised to develop a contemporary military-specific injury pyramid for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) that could inform future injury risk management.
Results: The estimated ratio of fatalities: serious injuries: minor/ moderate injuries was 1: 62: 19550. Evidence indicates that half of the minor/ moderate injuries may go unreported and be self-managed, and that another 45% of minor/moderate injuries may be reported to ADF healthcare providers but not to work health and safety incident reporting systems. Top reasons for non-reporting include: fear of career impacts; avoiding duty-limiting medical profiles; inconvenience of seeking treatment; and avoiding negative perceptions from others.
Conclusion: Estimates of unreported injuries should be considered alongside reported injuries when estimating military injury risks. There a range of reasons military personnel do not report and instead selfmanage their injuries. Understanding this assists in more accurately assessing injury risks and ensuring
injury management (or self-management) is optimised and risks associated with injury self-management are well-managed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 232-233 |
| Publication status | Published - 17 Oct 2019 |
| Event | TRANSFORM 2019 Physiotherapy Conference - Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide, Australia Duration: 17 Oct 2019 → 19 Oct 2019 https://transform.physio/ https://transform.physio/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Abstract_Book_Adelaide_2019.pdf (Book of Abstracts) https://transform.physio/#program |
Conference
| Conference | TRANSFORM 2019 Physiotherapy Conference |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | APA |
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Adelaide |
| Period | 17/10/19 → 19/10/19 |
| Internet address |