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299227
Using Mixed Methods to Examine Distracted Driving in an Occupational Population
Monday, November 17, 2014
: 8:45 AM - 9:00 AM
David Swedler, PhD, MPH
,
Center for Injury Epidemiology, Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, Hopkinton, MA
Keshia Pollack, PhD, MPH
,
Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Andrea C. Gielen, ScD, ScM
,
Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Background Distracted driving is a known risk factor for motor vehicle crashes. In a study of driver behavior, we examined the impact of personal and workplace factors on decision-making concerning distracted driving in a population of commercial truck drivers. Methods Qualitative and quantitative data were collected concurrently; analyzed in parallel; then the results were combined to draw meta-inference concerning factors influencing distracted driving on the job. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts in truck driving safety and distracted driving. These interviews were coded and analyzed thematically. Members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters were surveyed concerning their decision-making surrounding texting while driving and using the dispatch device. The aspects of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for these two distractions were correlated to distraction-related outcomes. Finally, the complementary qualitative and quantitative results were triangulated, allowing us to draw more robust conclusions concerning distracted driving. Results Qualitative analysis of the interviews described the role of management in influencing driver behavior, and that drivers have a range of personal control dependent on the type of distraction. Regression analysis of the survey found that management norms concerning dispatch device use were associated with distraction-involved near crashes whereas driver intention towards texting mediated the relationship of other TPB components and distraction-involved near crash outcomes. Combining both results, we found that work-relatedness affects how much control drivers have over distraction. Conclusion Many factors influence whether or not truck drivers undertake distractions while. Our use of mixed methods gave us in-depth insight concerning driver decision-making.
Learning Areas:
Occupational health and safety
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Identify personal and workplace factors that affect distracted driving on the job for commercial truck drivers.
Describe the benefits of using a mixed methods study design to examine risky occupational behaviors.
Keyword(s): Occupational Health and Safety, Methodology
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: This research was developed with input from stakeholders concerning its applicability to on the job safety promotion. I have experience in injury epidemiology, biostatistics, and mixed methods and I am interested in promoting the use of novel methodologies to understand injury risk factors. I have received funding and published on issues of both intentional and unintentional injuries in the workplace.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
