Occupational and traffic accidents among veterinary surgeons

A recent large-scale survey of accidents in German veterinary surgeons was performed. Veterinary work represents a relatively high-risk occupation involving substantial driving throughout the working week (visiting rural farms, etc.) with high reported rates of driving accidents and of accidents resulting from physical injury through treatment of animals. In this paper the prediction of both driving and other work-related accidents among veterinary surgeons (N=494) is considered; it is appropriate to consider accident rates for this group separately, as there is evidence that the main predictors of accidents differ between veterinary surgeons and auxiliary veterinary personnel. A series of univariate and multivariate analyses of the data indicate that work-related accident occurrence is best predicted by work-related driving distance and risk attitude, with associations also being found with working hours and stress. Driving accident rate is best predicted by risk attitudes, stress and aggression, with associations also being found with age, number of children, work-related driving distance and safety attitude. Construction of transactional models suggests models in which the effect of work-related driving distance on driving accident rates is mediated by risk attitude, whilst the effect of working hours on work-related accidents is mediated by stress. A detailed discussion of the general factors which predict work-related accidents and specific occupational factors which apply to veterinary workers is also included. Problems associated with the high degree of intercorrelation between individual difference and occupational predictors in the interpretation and modelling of accident data are discussed. The implications for practice are also discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.