There is no questioning that due to the physical, mental and financial impact that injury has on the WA community, additional prevention efforts are needed to reduce this growing burden.
To identify opportunities to empower Western Australians to reduce their risk of injury, Injury Matters have commenced a research project to understand the perceived attitudes towards injury in WA and gain insights into the actions and influences that precede unintentional injuries across different settings.
In partnership with Monash University’s BehaviourWorks Australia team, Injury Matters has finalised Stage One of the project. This stage of the project sought to unpack the behavioural influences of unintentional injury, the self-reported incidence of injury prevention behaviours and how the WA community talks about the issue of injury prevention.
Stage One of the project involved three steps:
- First, we conducted a rapid literature review that identified key barriers and facilitators to unintentional injury in the adult general population.
- Then we conducted a community survey that explored the barriers and facilitators and reported behaviours associated with unintentional injury in WA’s adult population.
- Finally, we ran community focus groups to explore and unpack some behavioural influences measured in the survey, as well as to capture community reflections on public service campaigns.
What have we found so far?
Findings from the rapid review suggested that behavioural influences for injury prevention were primarily individual factors (attitudes, capability, emotion) and social factors (social norms).
The survey highlighted key predictors of ‘safe’ and ‘unsafe’ behaviours in the Western Australian adult population. Key predictors of ‘safe’ behaviours included stronger beliefs about their knowledge, skills, and experience to avoid injury, a stronger belief that injuries are preventable and increasing age. Unsurprisingly, the alternatives to these predictors were key predictors of ‘unsafe’ behaviours.
Variation existed in regard to survey respondent’s attitudes towards injury, however overall 70% of survey respondents believed that unintentional injuries are at least slightly preventable, and 42% were concerned about the level and frequency of injuries in WA.
Focus group participants commonly referred to injuries as ‘accidents’ or ‘accidental events’ and referred to safety as ‘prevention’ or ‘preventable events’. Due to the preventable nature of injuries, the use of the word accidents among Western Australian adults is a core construct that could influence future awareness-raising activities.
What’s next?
Stage One of the project has successfully provided considerable insight into the WA communities attitudes towards injury, injury prevention behaviours and numerous concepts to help inform subsequent work.
Stage Two of the project will leverage off the findings from Stage One, whilst also refining potential transferability of the research findings to the community setting.
How can I find out more?
Further information regarding Stage One of the project can be accessed here.
If you are interested in being involved in the project or would like any additional information please contact Injury Matters via [email protected].