INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to identify the predictors of personal flotation device (PFD) use among workers in the Alaska commercial fishing industry. METHODS: This study analyzed data from a questionnaire administered to fishing industry workers on four types of commercial fishing vessels in Alaska. Workers' risk perceptions of falling overboard, attitudes regarding PFDs, and other factors were compared using Chi-square tests. A forward stepwise procedure was used to fit multivariate logistic regression models predicting PFD use. RESULTS: PFD usage ranged from 0% reporting always using a PFD among longliners to 51% among trawlers. Among the statistically significant predictors of PFD use identified in multivariate models, the belief that PFDs were an entanglement hazard was inversely associated with any use of PFDs among longliners (OR 0.38; 95% CI: 0.20, 0.73) and gillnetters (OR 0.38; 95% CI: 0.19, 0.76). The belief that PFDs interfered with work was inversely associated with high use of PFDs among crabbers (OR 0.16; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.45) and with always using PFDs among trawlers (OR 0.35; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.78). Other significant predictors were specific to each vessel type. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to increase PFD use in the fishing industry should be tailored to each vessel type and focus on addressing the significant barriers to PFD use. Workers may increase PFD usage if they are familiarized with newer PFDs that have been tested and accepted by their peers.

INTRODUCTION: Alaska had the highest work-related fatality rate of any state during 1980-1989. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health established the Alaska Field Station (AFS) to address this problem. METHODS: AFS established surveillance systems to provide scientific assessments of occupational hazards. Interventions were developed in collaboration with partners and evaluated. RESULTS: During 2000-2009, Alaska experienced a 42.5% decline in work-related fatalities over the previous decade of 1990-1999. In 2009, the workplace fatality rate for Alaska was 5.6/100,000 workers. Commercial pilot deaths were reduced by 50% and Bering Sea crab fishing death rates were reduced by 60%. Building on this success, AFS established national programs to improve safety in the commercial fishing and oil and gas extraction industries. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: A focused, epidemiological approach to reducing fatalities in high-risk occupations is effective. Ongoing commitment to this type of approach will assist in continued success in Alaska and elsewhere.

BACKGROUND: Congress has exempted farms with fewer than 11 employees from enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Three states (California, Oregon, and Washington) do not observe the exemption. METHODS: We compared rates of fatal occupational injury in agriculture, by year, in 1993-2007, in California, Oregon, and Washington (aggregated), and the remaining states (as two aggregated groups): those with, and those without, state-designed occupational safety and health programs. RESULTS: Fatality rates were approximately 1.6 to 3 times as high in both groups of states observing the small farm exemption as in the group of three states not observing it. Comparisons excluding the agriculture industry showed weaker differences. CONCLUSIONS: The three states' opting out of the small farm exemption may have had substantial direct effects. They may also reflect and/or encourage a generally more effective approach to occupational health and safety. Although alternative explanations must be considered, the stakes are high in terms of injury and loss of life; further investigation seems urgently indicated. Am. J. Ind. Med. (c) 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.