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What would you like? Identifying the required characteristics of an industry-wide incident reporting and learning system for the led outdoor activity sector

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics that led outdoor activity providers agree are necessary for the development of a new industry-wide incident reporting and learning system (UPLOADS). The study involved: 1) a literature review to identify a set of characteristics that are considered to be hallmarks of successful reporting and learning systems in other safety-critical domains; and (2) the presentation of these characteristics to 25 Australian led outdoor activity providers using a two round modified-Delphi technique to obtain consensus views on their relative importance in this domain. Thirteen out of 30 characteristics were endorsed as “essential” for developing an incident reporting and learning system for the led outdoor activity sector, and a further 13 were endorsed as “required”. “Essential” characteristics primarily related to operational or practical characteristics of the system, while “required” characteristics primarily related to system infrastructure, data quality and the basis for developing of countermeasures to address identified injury risks. The findings indicate that although led outdoor activity providers are primarily concerned that the demands of reporting do not adversely impact on their day to day operations, they also recognise that data collection methods and countermeasure development need to be of high quality. The paper concludes by highlighting some potential strategies for implementing the characteristics considered “essential” and “required”.

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Correspondence to Natassia Goode.

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Dr. Natassia Goode is a Research Fellow with the University of the Sunshine Coast Accident Research Team.

Prof. Caroline Finch is an NHMRC Principal Research Fellow and the Director of the Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention (ACRISP) at Federation University Australia

Ms. Erin Cassell was formerly the Director of the Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit (VISU) at Monash University, now retired.

Prof. Mike Lenné is an Associate Director of the Monash University Accident Research Centre and leader of the human factors research team.

A/Prof Paul Salmon is the leader of the University of the Sunshine Coast Accident Research Team.

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Goode, N., Finch, C.F., Cassell, E. et al. What would you like? Identifying the required characteristics of an industry-wide incident reporting and learning system for the led outdoor activity sector. Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education 17, 2–15 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03400966

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