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High school-based introductory occupational safety education has become common and serves an important role in preparing students for entry into the workforce. However, the practices and perspectives of teachers have received limited attention. We sought to gather empirical data from high schools in South Australia and examine potential predictors of effective safety education.Focus groups and interviews with teachers and school to work advisors were undertaken and a questionnaire survey of teachers conducted. Potential predictors of perceived effective learning were grouped in terms of teacher-, school- and teaching-related characteristics.Of the 156 respondents from 103 schools, 16% had received no formal safety training, 86% felt that the school management was supportive, and 36% felt that their ability to teach the topic effectively was compromised due to other demands of their role. Although general learning guidelines were available, there was variability in the time spent, teaching methods and resources used. In a multivariate model, perceived student engagement was significantly associated with the use of case studies (adjusted odds ratio= 2.2). The teaching of occupational safety in high schools would benefit by a standardized yet engaging approach, incorporating case studies. In-service teacher training with more explicit guidance on effective content and delivery is recommended Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are a leading cause of work-related ill health, and a major cost burden for the individual, industry and the community. Despite the broad range of risk factors that have been identified, most studies have focused only on specific occupations or categories of risk factors, meaning that there is limited understanding of the relative contributions of individual and organisational, physical and psychosocial factors Objective: This cross-sectional survey of workers in medium-to-large workplaces in South Australia sought to examine a broad range of factors within various workplaces and industries. Participants: 404 workers from 29 workgroups and 23 separate companies participated in the research. Methods: Questionnaires were administered face-to-face, assessing demographic and job characteristics, safety climate, musculoskeletal pain and discomfort (MSPD) and job satisfaction. Potential predictors were grouped in terms of personal/job and organizational characteristics and associations with MSPD examined Results: A considerable proportion of workers (40%) had experienced MSPD in the last 7 days and 15% had experienced severe MSPD. In a multivariate model, four variables were found to be significantly associated with MSPD, namely being aged >= 40 years (adjusted odds ratio = 1.73), overall job satisfaction (negatively associated) (AOR = 0.37), medium (vs. large) company size (AOR = 1.80) and workgroup safety climate score (negatively associated) (AOR = 0.58). Conclusions: The results confirm a link between non-physical factors and work-related musculoskeletal disorders, suggesting that these factors should received increased attention as part of overall health and safety strategies. Organizations should give greater consideration to both the satisfaction of their employees and organizational factors that set the tone for safety climate. Refereed/Peer-reviewed