Occupational safety and health for public safety employees

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA496656&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

Police officers, firefighters, and other public safety workers are asked to put their lives at risk to protect the general public, so it is not surprising that they face exceptionally high rates of injury and fatality relative to the general workforce. To help protect public safety employees from work-related injuries and illnesses without compromising their ability to do their jobs, policymakers need a better understanding of the specific risk factors associated with different aspects of public safety occupations. To further such understanding, LaTourrette, Loughran, and Seabury conducted a literature review of research on this topic; held roundtable discussions with representatives from several public safety departments in California; and analyzed national survey data, as well as administrative data from California, to illuminate how the injury, illness, and fatality rates for public safety employees differ from those of the general workforce. The authors highlight opportunities and challenges to improving the health and safety of public safety workers.

A COMPARISON OF THE US AIR FORCE FITNESS TEST AND Sister Services' combat-oriented fitness tests

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA496773&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

A COMPARISON OF THE US AIR FORCE FITNESS TEST AND
SISTER SERVICES’ COMBAT-ORIENTED FITNESS TESTS
THESIS

Thomas E. Worden, BS
Captain, USAF
March 2009


Abstract
This research explores how the United States Air Force Physical Fitness Test
(AFPFT) events compare to sister-services’ physical fitness test events with respect to their predictability of combat capability. Multiple regression tools, non-parametric analyses, and chi2 contingency table hypothesis testing were utilized to test hypotheses about performances and determine associations between involved variables. AFPFT scores had minimal predictability (adj R2 0.2045) [but improved when
raw data replaced scoring sheets, pushups have no maximum, and abdominal circumference and age are removed (adj R2 0.7703)]. Higher Body Mass Index (BMI)
predicts higher combat capability (p-value 0.0208). The best two-event model
incorporated a 1/2-mile run and 30-lb. dumbbell lifts (adj R2 0.8514), and the best threeevent model also incorporates pushups with no maximum (adj R2 0.8819).
Completion of the fireman’s carry has a dependency on both BMI >25 (p-value
0.00152) or a waist >32.5” (p-value 0.00521). Improvement in peer stratifications from the AFPFT to combat capability has a dependency on BMI >25 (p-value 3.19E-7), even with abdominal circumference excluded from the scoring (p-value 0.00586). Women
were found to have lower combat capability than men (p-value 0.0003). Those who
could not pass the fireman’s carry were found to have lower combat capability (p-value 0.0002).