The potential implications of autonomous vehicles in and around the workplace

The advent of autonomous vehicles is forecast to bring enormous changes to the workplace as positions primarily involving driving become progressively redundant. Little is known about public awareness of these impending changes and the potential impacts on society and individuals. This study involved a national survey of Australians and interviews with key stakeholders across multiple countries to identify major potential issues associated with vehicle automation, including in and around the workplace. Most survey respondents had concerns relating to job losses in driving occupations, while almost half anticipated increased employment in technology-related areas. Three primary themes were evident in the data from the stakeholder interviews: (1) the inevitability of the universal use of AVs and hence the immediate need for labour market planning, (2) associated potential effects on occupations that are not primarily structured around driving, and (3) the possibility of increased worker safety and enhanced commuting opportunities

Qat Consumption Among Women Living in Yemen

[No abstract available

Rule-Based Exposure Assessment Versus Case-By-Case Expert Assessment Using the Same Information in a Community-Based Study

Background: Retrospective exposure assessment in community-based studies is largely reliant on questionnaire information. Expert assessment is often used to assess lifetime occupational exposures, but these assessments generally lack transparency and are very time-consuming. We explored the agreement between a rule-based assessment approach and case-by-case expert assessment of occupational exposures in a community-based study. Methods: We used data from a case-control study of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in which parental occupational exposures were originally assigned by expert assessment. Key questions were identified from the completed parent questionnaires and, based on these, rules were written to assign exposure levels to diesel exhaust, pesticides, and solvents. We estimated exposure prevalence separately for fathers and mothers, and used Kappa statistics to assess the agreement between the two exposure assessment methods.Results: Exposures were assigned to 5829 jobs among 1079 men and 6189 jobs among 1234 women. For both sexes, agreement was good for the two assessment methods of exposure to diesel exhaust at a job level (κ=0.70 for men and κ=0.71 for women) and at a person level (κ=0.74 and κ=0.75). The agreement was good to excellent for pesticide exposure among men (κ=0.74 for jobs and κ=0.84 at a person level) and women (κ=0.68 and κ=0.71 at a job and person level, respectively). Moderate to good agreement was observed for assessment of solvent exposure, which was better for women than men. Conclusion: The rule-based assessment approach appeared to be an efficient alternative for assigning occupational exposures in a community-based study for a selection of occupational exposures

Do Demographic Profiles of Listed and Unlisted Households Differ? Results of a Nationwide Telephone Survey

A growing number of households are not reachable through traditional directory-based samples, which can have important implications for the representativeness of telephone surveys. The current study aims to investigate the demographic differences between households which have their telephone numbers listed or not listed in the Australian White Pages telephone directory. A total of 5,023 eligible Australian residents who were currently in paid employment participated in this study. Each respondent’s telephone number was individually matched to the residential White Pages to determine its listed status, and demographic variables were compared between those with a listed and unlisted telephone number. Those with an unlisted number were significantly more likely to be younger, to have been born in a country outside of Australia, and to live in a lower socioeconomic area than those who were listed in the White Pages. These demographic differences should be considered when undertaking telephone surveys using a White Pages sample

Assessment of Exposure to Shiftwork Mechanisms in the General Population: the Development of a New Job-Exposure Matrix

Objective. To develop a job-exposure matrix (JEM) that estimates exposure to eight variables representing different aspects of shiftwork among female workers. Methods. Occupational history and shiftwork exposure data were obtained from a population-based breast cancer case–control study. Exposure to light at night, phase shift, sleep disturbances, poor diet, lack of physical activity, lack of vitamin D, and graveyard and early morning shifts, was calculated by occupational code. Three threshold values based on the frequency of exposure were considered (10%, 30% and 50%) for use as cut-offs in determining exposure for each occupational code. JEM-based exposure classification was compared with that from the OccIDEAS application (job-specific questionnaires and assessment by rules) by assessing the effect on the OR for phase shift and breast cancer. Using data from the Australian Workplace Exposure Study, the specificity and sensitivity of the threshold values were calculated for each exposure variable. Results. 127 of 413 occupational codes involved exposure to one or more shiftwork variables. Occupations with the highest probability of exposure shiftwork included nurses and midwives. Using the 30% threshold, the OR for the association between phase shift exposure and breast cancer was decreased and no longer statistically significant (OR=1.14, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.42). The 30% cut-off point demonstrated best specificity and sensitivity, although results varied between exposure variables. Conclusions This JEM provides a set of indicators reflecting biologically plausible mechanisms for the potential impact of shiftwork on health and may provide an alternative method of exposure assessment in the absence of detailed job history and exposure data

Incidence and Survival for Merkel Cell Carcinoma in Queensland, Australia, 1993-2010

Importance: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an uncommon but highly invasive form of skin cancer. The mechanisms that cause MCC are yet to be fully determined. Objectives To compare the incidence and survival rates of MCC in Queensland, Australia, known to be a high-risk area, with MCC incidence and survival elsewhere in the world. We also analyzed incidence trends and differences in survival by key demographic and clinical characteristics. Design, Setting, and Participants: Retrospective cohort study of population-based administrative data for MCC collected by the Queensland Cancer Registry and supplemented with detailed histopathologic data. Deidentified records were obtained of all Queensland residents diagnosed as having MCC during the period from 1993 to 2010. A subsample of histopathologic records were reviewed by a senior dermatopathologist to determine the potential for misclassification. A total of 879 eligible cases of MCC were included in the study. Main Outcomes and Measures: Incidence rates were directly age standardized to the 2000 United States Standard Population. Trends were examined using Joinpoint software with results expressed in terms of the annual percentage change. The period method was used to calculate 5-year relative survival, and adjusted hazard ratios were obtained from multivariate Poisson models.Results: There were 340 cases of MCC diagnosed in Queensland between 2006 and 2010, corresponding to an incidence rate of 1.6 per 100 000 population. Men (2.5 per 100 000) had higher incidence than women (0.9 per 100 000), and rates peaked at 20.7 per 100 000 for persons 80 years or older. The overall incidence of MCC increased by an average of 2.6% per year from 1993 onwards. Relative survival was 41% after 5 years, with significantly better survival found for those younger than 70 years at diagnosis (56%-60%), those with tumors on the face or ears (51%), and those with stage I lesions (49%). Conclusions and Relevance: Incidence rates for MCC in Queensland are at least double those of any that have been previously published elsewhere in the world. It is likely that Queensland’s combination of a predominantly white population, outdoor lifestyle, and exposure to sunlight has played a role in this unwanted result. Interventions are required to increase awareness of MCC among clinicians and the public

Is Step Down Assessment of Screen-Detected Lesions as Safe as Workup at a Metropolitan Assessment Centre?

Objective: BreastScreen WA offers population mammographic screening via fixed clinics in the metropolitan area and mobile clinics that visit country areas every two years. If an abnormality is suspected following mobile clinic screening, women undergo Step Down Assessment; diagnostic further views are performed at the mobile clinic and if a possibly significant abnormality persists, country women are referred to a Perth Metropolitan Breast Assessment Centre. The purpose of this retrospective cohort study was to determine if Step Down Assessment in country Western Australia offered the same diagnostic effectiveness as screening and assessment in the metropolitan area. Methods: The study included all screening episodes at BreastScreen WA between 1999 and 2008. Screening episodes from metropolitan and mobile clinics were compared according to the primary outcomes of cancer detection rates, recall and further investigations, cancer size, return to screen rates and interval cancers. Results: Cancer detection rate per 1,000 screening episodes was lower for the country program than the metropolitan program (3.07 (2.84–3.31) versus 7.04 (6.82–7.27)). The false negative (interval cancer) rate was lower for Step Down Assessment than for the metropolitan program. The size of cancers detected was similar for both screening services. Return to screen rates were comparable between both groups. Conclusion: The results indicate that the current service model is providing appropriate diagnostic effectiveness, as well as comparable client satisfaction, for country and metropolitan women

OccIDEAS: Retrospective Occupational Exposure Assessment in Community-Based Studies Made Easier

Assessing occupational exposure in retrospective community-based case-control studies is difficult as measured exposure data are very seldom available. The expert assessment method is considered the most accurate way to attribute exposure but it is a time consuming and expensive process and may be seen as subjective, nonreproducible, and nontransparent. In this paper, we describe these problems and outline our solutions as operationalized in a web-based software application (OccIDEAS). The novel aspects of OccIDEAS are combining all steps in the assessment into one software package; enmeshing the process of assessment into the development of questionnaires; selecting the exposure(s) of interest; specifying rules for exposure assignment; allowing manual or automatic assessments; ensuring that circumstances in which exposure is possible for an individual are highlighted for review; providing reports to ensure consistency of assessment. Development of this application has the potential to make high-quality occupational assessment more efficient and accessible for epidemiological studies

Tea, Coffee, and Milk Consumption and Colorectal Cancer Risk

Background: Data regarding the effects of tea, coffee, and milk on the risk of colorectal cancer are inconsistent. We investigated associations of tea, coffee, and milk consumption with colorectal cancer risk and attempted to determine if these exposures were differentially associated with the risks of proximal colon, distal colon, and rectal cancers. Methods: Data from 854 incident cases and 948 controls were analyzed in a case-control study of colorectal cancer in Western Australia during 2005–07. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze the associations of black tea (with and without milk), green tea, herbal tea, hot coffee, iced coffee, and milk with colorectal cancer. Results: Consumption of 1 or more cups of herbal tea per week was associated with a significantly decreased risk of distal colon cancer (adjusted odds ratio, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.16–0.82; P[subscript]Trend = 0.044), and consumption of 1 or more cups of iced coffee per week was associated with increased risk of rectal cancer (adjusted odds ratio, 1.52; 95% CI, 0.91–2.54; P[subscript]Trend = 0.004). Neither herbal tea nor iced coffee was associated with the risk of proximal colon cancer. Hot coffee was associated with a possible increased risk of distal colon cancer. Black tea (with or without milk), green tea, decaffeinated coffee, and milk were not significantly associated with colorectal cancer risk. Conclusions: Consumption of herbal tea was associated with reduced risk of distal colon cancer, and consumption of iced coffee was associated with increased rectal cancer risk