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Occupational accidental injury deaths (OAIDs) are a major social problem, and the analysis of individual cases is important for developing injury prevention measures. In this study, OAIDs with autopsies performed at forensic facilities in the metropolitan area of Japan (Tokyo and Chiba prefectures) from 2011 to 2020 were reviewed. The epidemiological characteristics of these OAIDs (n = 136), which accounted for 13.5% of OAIDs reported in the region during the study period, were compared with those of non‐occupational accidental injury deaths (non‐OAID) cases (n = 3926). Among OAID cases, 134 (98.5%) were men and 13 (9.6%) were foreign‐born workers, which was significantly more than in non‐OAID cases (p < 0.001, respectively). OAIDs were most frequent in construction (39.0%) followed by the manufacturing category (21.3%). The percentage of OAIDs in workers aged 65 and over showed an increasing trend. Most accidents occurred just after the start of work or just before the workday ended, as well as during the peak months of the year. The most common type of accident was fall/crash from a height (25.0%), and the most common injury site was the chest; none of these cases were confirmed to have been wearing a safety belt properly. Among foreign‐born workers, the most common type of accident was caught in/between. As the working population is expected to change in the future, and an increase in the number of older adults and foreign workers is expected, it is necessary to take preventive measures such as improving the work environment based on ergonomics and providing safety education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of many injury accidents caused by electric shock is the fatal electrical accident. Out of 341 electrical injury accidents that occurred from 2013 to 2015 in Japan, 31 were fatal. Thus, about 10% of all electric injury accidents resulted in death. When a part of human body touches a charged object in an electrical installation, it is possible for an electric shock to cause an accidental injury or fatality. The elimination of such accidents is necessary. However, the elimination of electric shock accidents is difficult, owing to the sheer number of workers in the workforce, about 64 million in 2015. The difficulty in implementing thorough safety education and preventive measures for all workers is apparent, as it is easy for a worker to occasionally not take such measures as the use of an appropriate insulating safeguard of an insulating rubber glove. How do we educate such a worker who occasionally decides not to use the insulating safeguard? The problem of safety education is therefore in need of a solution. If the function of safety operation devices is improved, electric shock accidents can be prevented even if a worker does not use such an insulating safeguard. In this study, 87 of 341 electrical injury accidents that occurred in Japan between 2013 and 2015 are considered. The results show that many electrical injury accidents occur between 0900–1200 h, and that many of the victims of electrical injury were in their thirties. This data will be helpful in promoting the prevention of electrical injury accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Critical care nurses need a high level of medical competence, especially with regard to patient safety. There are several tools to measure general and critical care nursing competence, but the usability of these tools is inadequate because they include large numbers of questions. To maintain quality and safety in intensive care units (ICUs), it is necessary to be able to easily measure and evaluate critical care nursing competence. The purpose of this study was to develop an easy-to-use questionnaire assessing critical care nursing competence related to patient safety. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, explorative study was designed to collect data from nurses working in six ICUs in tertiary hospitals in Japan. Data were collected from August 2017 to December 2018. The Critical Care Nursing Competence Questionnaire for Patient Safety (C3Q-safety) is a 22-item instrument designed to assess nursing competence related to patient safety in ICUs. Items were developed based on previous work related to critical care nursing competence and were adjusted based on a pilot study. Results: A total of 211 nurses working in ICUs participated in this study. Through descriptive statistics and factor analysis, the number of questions was reduced from 24 to 22. The C3Q-safety had four factors: decision making, collaboration, nursing intervention, and principles of nursing care. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.73 to 0.83. The four factors showed positive correlations with each other (0.47 to 0.72). Nurses licensed as certified nurses in intensive care and those with longer ICU work experience showed significantly higher scores on all four factors. Conclusions: We developed an easy-to-use questionnaire to assess critical care nursing competence related to patient safety. The C3Q-safety was able to detect four areas of competence. The C3Q-safety will make it possible to easily measure critical care nursing competence and can be utilized for efficient education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first aim of this study was to examine whether people drive light cars carefully in comparison with standard-sized cars. The second aim was to evaluate the factors that influence these risky driving indicators. Data were collected from 49 drivers in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, from November 2014 to January 2015. Risky driving behaviors included; (1) speeding, (2) high speed on a non-expressway, (3) high speed on an expressway, (4) high right/left turn rate, (5) long travel, (6) driving at night, (7) driving on an expressway, and (8) driving frequency. At first, the frequency or number of these indicators was compared between the light car group and the standard size car group by a t-test. Second, regression models were established to evaluate the influence of age, gender, living area, and car classification on each risky indicator. The t-test results showed that there was no significant difference in risky driving behaviors between the light car group and the others. The regression models confirmed that car classification did not significantly influence risky driving behaviors. Although age might affect car size selection, an interaction effect between these two factors was not observed. The results of the comparison and regression analysis revealed that drivers of light cars did not drive more carefully than drivers of standard size cars. The risky driving behaviors may partially contribute to the high injury and fatality rates of light cars. Therefore, we suggest that automakers and policymakers should provide more safety education and driving assistance for drivers of light cars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

John Tingle, Reader in Health Law at Nottingham Trent University, and Jen Minford, Junior Doctor Co-ordinator, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, discuss initiatives presented at a global summit on patient safety [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports the approval of legislation requiring drivers to use child safety seats when transporting children by Japan in May, 1999. Comments by Tetsuro Tanaka of the National Institute for Public Health (NIPH); Research by NIPH; The awareness of Japanese parents of the safety benefits; Programs to educate mothers about domestic safety issues; Accidental drowning in Japan.