Patterns and characteristics of ambulance attendance at heroin overdose at a local-area level in Melbourne, Australia: implications for service provision.
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The monitoring of heroin use and related harms is undertaken in Australia with a view to inform policy responses. Some surveillance data on heroin-related harms is well suited to inform the planning and delivery of heroin-related services, such as needle and syringe provision. This article examines local-area variation in the characteristics of nonfatal heroin overdoses attended by ambulances in Melbourne over the period June 1998 to October 2000 to inform the delivery of services to the heroin-using population in Melbourne. Five so-called hot spot local government areas were considered in relation to the remainder of the Melbourne metropolitan area. Significant local-area variations in the characteristics of nonfatal heroin overdoses were evident over the study period, including the number of heroin overdoses, the age and sex of the people attended, the time of the attendance, the likelihood of hospitalization, and the likelihood of police coattendance. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of service provision (e.g., opening hours) within the five hot spot local government areas, and it is argued that the analyses undertaken could easily be applied to other jurisdictions for which comparable data are available. (+info)
Stress in police officers: a study of the origins, prevalence and severity of stress-related symptoms within a county police force.
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BACKGROUND: High levels of stress-related illness are causing concern across industry. Against a background of impending legislative moves to try to improve this situation, there is a need to identify key work-related stressors. Police work tends to be regarded as inherently stressful because of the personal risk of exposure to confrontation and violence and the day-to-day involvement in a variety of traumatic incidents. As a result, high levels of stress-related symptoms might be expected in this population. OBJECTIVE: To examine the sources of stress-related symptoms within police officers and measure the prevalence of significant associated mental ill-health. METHOD: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of a population of 1206 police officers was performed to assess levels of strain associated with a series of potential home and work related stressors. Participants were then split into low and high scoring groups on the basis of a General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) threshold score in order to identify those stressors most associated with mental ill-health effects. RESULTS: Occupational stressors ranking most highly within the population were not specific to policing, but to organizational issues such as the demands of work impinging upon home life, lack of consultation and communication, lack of control over workload, inadequate support and excess workload in general. The high scoring group constituted 41% of the population and differed significantly from those with low scores in perception of all stressors, ranking both personal and occupational stressors more highly, and from personality constraints appeared significantly more 'stress-prone'. A significant association between gender and mental ill-health was found, with females more likely to score more highly on the GHQ than males. CONCLUSION: This study confirms previous findings of organizational culture and workload as the key issues in officer stress. Given that the degree of symptomatology appears to be worsening, management action is required. Further research is indicated within the police population into a possible increased susceptibility in female officers. (+info)
Underreporting of justifiable homicides committed by police officers in the United States, 1976-1998.
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OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the consistency of estimates of the number of justifiable homicides committed by US police officers and identified sources of underreporting. METHODS: The number of justifiable homicides committed by police officers between 1976 and 1998 was estimated from supplementary homicide report (SHR) and National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) mortality data. RESULTS: Nationally, the SHR estimate was 29% larger than the NVSS estimate. However, in most states this pattern was reversed, with more deaths reported in the NVSS. CONCLUSIONS: Both systems underreport, but for different reasons. The NVSS misclassifies cases as homicides, rather than justifiable homicides committed by police officers, because certifiers fail to mention police involvement. The SHR misses cases because some jurisdictions fail to file reports or omit justifiable homicides committed by police officers. (+info)
Biological monitoring of exposure to benzene in traffic policemen of north India.
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Occupational health of traffic policemen employed at six major towns of north India was monitored during these investigations. Traffic controllers face the risk of exposure to benzene present in the ambient air as a component of fuel exhaust. Inhaled benzene is metabolized and excreted as phenol. Our observations on urinary phenol show much higher values than prescribed by ACGIH. Furthermore, social habits like alcohol consumption and cigarette smoke were found to modulate benzene metabolism. It was noticed that cigarette smoke synergizes the effect of benzene whereas antagonistic effects of alcohol were observed. (+info)
Land use planning and the control of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and fast food restaurants.
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We desired to understand how legal tools protect public health by regulating the location and density of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and fast food retail outlets. We reviewed the literature to determine how land use regulations can function as control tools for public health advocates. We found that land use regulations are a public health advocacy tool that has been successfully used to lessen the negative effects of alcohol retail outlets in neighborhoods. More research is needed to determine whether such regulations are successful in reducing the negative effects of other retail outlets on community health. (+info)
Zoning out crime and improving community health in Sarasota, Florida: "Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design".
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Sarasota, Fla, used Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles to guide revitalization efforts in its crime-ridden North Trail area. A team of city planners, police officers, and architects examined land use and crime data and sought input from local businesses, residents, and community leaders. Beginning in 1990, interventions included increased police patrols to reduce prostitution and the creation of a new zoning district to encourage area redevelopment based on CPTED principles. Compared with the rest of Sarasota, from 1990 to 1998 the North Trail Corridor experienced decreases in calls for police service (P <.005), crimes against persons and property (P = not significant), and prostitution (P <.05). These results suggest that community design may be a useful tool for decreasing crime and improving community health. (+info)
Potential use of safer injecting facilities among injection drug users in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
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BACKGROUND: The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority will initiate North America's first sanctioned safer injecting facility, as a pilot project, on Sept. 15, 2003. The analyses presented here were conducted to estimate the potential use of safer injecting facilities by local illicit injection drug users (IDUs) and to evaluate the potential impact of newly established Health Canada restrictions and current police activities on the use of the proposed facility. METHODS: During April and May 2003, we recruited active IDUs in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to participate in a feasibility study. We used descriptive and univariate statistics to determine potential use of a safer injecting facility and to explore factors associated with willingness to use such a facility with and without federal restrictions and police presence. RESULTS: Overall, 458 street-recruited IDUs completed an interviewer-administered survey, of whom 422 (92%) reported a willingness to use a safer injecting facility. Those expressing willingness were more likely to inject in public (odds ratio [OR] 3.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9-8.0). When the restrictions in the Health Canada guidelines were considered, only 144 (31%) participants were willing to use a safer injecting facility. IDUs who inject alone were more likely (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.0-3.1) and women were less likely (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4-0.9) to be willing to use a safer injecting facility operating under these restrictions. Only 103 (22%) of the participants said they would be willing to use a safer injecting facility if police were stationed near the entrance. INTERPRETATION: Most IDUs participating in this study expressed a willingness to use a safer injecting facility. However, willingness declined substantially when the IDUs were asked about using a facility operating under selected Health Canada restrictions and in the event that police were stationed near the entrance. (+info)
Plasma cortisol levels and workers exposed to urban pollutants.
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Studies on animals and human subjects have proposed that urban pollutants may cause alterations of cortisol levels. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether police officers exposed to urban pollutants and possible psycho-social stressors could be at risk for alterations on plasma cortisol levels compared to a control group. Plasma cortisol levels were determined in 302 police officers with outdoor activity and administrative workers with indoor activity. The subjects were subdivided into three groups: "A" (non-smokers and non-drinkers), "B" (smokers), and "C" group (drinkers). In male and female subjects of "A" and "C" groups and in female subjects of "B" group the mean cortisol values were significantly higher in police officers compared to controls. The authors hypothesise an effect on plasma cortisol levels in police officers exposed to chemical, physical and possible psycho-social stressors. (+info)