There is increasing concern in Australia about safety in the thoroughbred racing industry, but there has been no reported analysis of injury data. This review analyses injury and workers' compensation data recorded in Victoria. On the basis of the results, it is recommended that the injury and incident data collection systems are improved such that they are not only more complete but also accumulate more detailed information about the location of an incident or injury event, the activity at the time of the incident or injury event, and factors that may have influenced the occurrence.

To gain an understanding of the factors that affect the risks and the adoption of risk control measures during the care of bariatric patients, focus groups were conducted in rural and metropolitan locations in Australia. It was found that the manual handling injury risk to carers is influenced by the design of the environments within which patient movement is undertaken; the limited range of handling equipment available for use with bariatric patients; and the efficacy of organizational procedures and training. Adoption of risk controls is hampered by the absence of a standard definition of the term 'bariatric' and limitations in the use of weight and body mass index in definitions. There are gaps in information flow during the bariatric patient journey through the health-care system and a lack of knowledge about how to safely manage the unique needs of bariatric patients.

Carers of bariatric (morbidly obese) clients are exposed to manual handling injury risk throughout the journey that such clients take within the healthcare system. To identify the factors that affect risks associated with bariatric clients and the subsequent adoption of risk control measures focus groups were conducted in two Australian state capitals: a suburban region of Melbourne and a large regional Victorian town. Participants, were recruited from within the primary health care sector, ambulance services, fire services and funeral businesses. It was found that the risks to which nurses, ambulance officers, fire fighters, and funeral industry employees are exposed are significant. The injury risk is influenced by the nature and design of the range of environments within which client movement is undertaken; the limited range of handling equipment available for use with bariatric clients; and the efficacy of organisational procedures and training. Adoption of risk controls is hampered by the absence of a standard definition of the term "bariatric" and the gaps in information flow during the bariatric client journey through the health care system. Various definitions of bariatric are applied in different sectors and there are limitations to the use of both weight and body mass index in those definitions.

Some occupational health and safety hazards associated with sheep shearing are related to shearing shed design. One aspect is the floor of the catching pen, from which sheep are caught and dragged to the shearing workstation. Floors can be constructed from various materials, and may be level or gently sloping. An experiment was conducted using eight experienced shearers as participants to measure the force exerted by a shearer when dragging a sheep. Results showed that significant changes in mean dragging force occurred with changes in both surface texture and slope. The mean dragging forces for different floor textures and slopes ranged from 359 N (36.6 kg) to 423N (43.2 kg), and were close to the maximum acceptable limits for pulling forces for the most capable of males. The best floor tested was a floor sloped at 1:10 constructed of timber battens oriented parallel to the path of the drag, which resulted in a mean dragging force 63.6N (15%) lower than the worst combination.

Introduction Identify the factors that affect the risks and the adoption of risk control measures during the care of bariatric (morbidly obese) patients by paramedics and fire fighter first responders in Australia. Methods Focus groups were conducted in neutral locations in two Australian state capitals; a suburban region of Melbourne which straddled the rural and metropolitan boundaries; and a large regional Victorian town. Results Carers of bariatric patients are exposed to manual handling injury risk throughout the journey that bariatric patients take within the healthcare and funeral systems. In focussing on paramedics and fire service first responders, as key groups within that journey, it was found that the risks are significant but are not quantifiable. The injury risk is influenced by the nature and design of the range of environments within which patient movement is undertaken; the limited range of handling equipment available for use with bariatric patients; and the efficacy of organisational procedures and training. Adoption of risk controls is hampered by the absence of a standard definition of the term "bariatric" and gaps in the information flow during the bariatric patient journey through the health care system. Various definitions of bariatric are applied in different sectors and there are limitations to the use of both weight and body mass index in those definitions. Conclusion There is a lack of knowledge about how to safely manage the unique needs of bariatric patients. It appears that few streamlined systems have been established for patient management, and many cases are managed as if they are an isolated experience. There is little documentation of systems or case studies and thus very little sharing of the knowledge. Improvements in manual handling risk control for carers requires greater inter and intra-industry collaboration, which in turn requires an agreed definition of "bariatric".