IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v13y2016i8p822-d75982.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Role of Winter Weather Conditions and Slipperiness on Tourists’ Accidents in Finland

Author

Listed:
  • Élise Lépy

    (Faculty of Humanities, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, Finland
    Faculty of Medicine, Arctic Health, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, Finland)

  • Sinikka Rantala

    (Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital, 90220 Oulu, Finland)

  • Antti Huusko

    (Thule Institute, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, Finland)

  • Pentti Nieminen

    (Medical Informatics and Statistics Group, University of Oulu, 90220 Oulu, Finland)

  • Marjo Hippi

    (Finnish Meteorological Institute, 00560 Helsinki, Finland)

  • Arja Rautio

    (Faculty of Medicine, Arctic Health, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, Finland
    Thule Institute, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, Finland)

Abstract

(1) Background: In Finland, slippery snowy or icy ground surface conditions can be quite hazardous to human health during wintertime. We focused on the impacts of the variability in weather conditions on tourists’ health via documented accidents during the winter season in the Sotkamo area. We attempted to estimate the slipping hazard in a specific context of space and time focusing on the weather and other possible parameters, responsible for fluctuations in the numbers of injuries/accidents; (2) Methods: We used statistical distributions with graphical illustrations to examine the distribution of visits to Kainuu Hospital by non-local patients and their characteristics/causes; graphs to illustrate the distribution of the different characteristics of weather conditions; questionnaires and interviews conducted among health care and safety personnel in Sotkamo and Kuusamo; (3) Results: There was a clear seasonal distribution in the numbers and types of extremity injuries of non-local patients. While the risk of slipping is emphasized, other factors leading to injuries are evaluated; and (4) Conclusions: The study highlighted the clear role of wintery weather conditions as a cause of extremity injuries even though other aspects must also be considered. Future scenarios, challenges and adaptive strategies are also discussed from the viewpoint of climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Élise Lépy & Sinikka Rantala & Antti Huusko & Pentti Nieminen & Marjo Hippi & Arja Rautio, 2016. "Role of Winter Weather Conditions and Slipperiness on Tourists’ Accidents in Finland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:13:y:2016:i:8:p:822-:d:75982
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/13/8/822/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/13/8/822/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alwang, Jeffrey & Siegel, Paul B. & Jorgensen, Steen L., 2001. "Vulnerability : a view from different disciplines," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 23304, The World Bank.
    2. Susan L. Cutter & Bryan J. Boruff & W. Lynn Shirley, 2003. "Social Vulnerability to Environmental Hazards," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 84(2), pages 242-261, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Agneta Larsson & Glenn Berggård & Peter Rosander & Gunvor Gard, 2019. "Gait Speed with Anti-Slip Devices on Icy Pedestrian Crossings Relate to Perceived Fall-Risk and Balance," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-13, July.
    2. Tatiana N. Unguryanu & Andrej M. Grjibovski & Tordis A. Trovik & Børge Ytterstad & Alexander V. Kudryavtsev, 2020. "Weather Conditions and Outdoor Fall Injuries in Northwestern Russia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-16, August.
    3. Timiryanova, Venera & Mchedlishvili, Aleksander & Lakman, Irina & Bakhitova, Railya & Abzalilova, Liya & Devyatkova, Galina, 2023. "Пространственные Факторы Непреднамеренных Падений В Зимний Период [Spatial factors of winter-related unintentional falls]," MPRA Paper 119208, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Rui Huang & Chaowu Xie & Feifei Lai & Xiang Li & Gaoyang Wu & Ian Phau, 2023. "Analysis of the Characteristics and Causes of Night Tourism Accidents in China Based on SNA and QAP Methods," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-21, January.
    5. Marjo Hippi & Markku Kangas, 2022. "Impact of Weather on Pedestrians’ Slip Risk," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-16, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ilan Noy & Rio Yonson, 2018. "Economic Vulnerability and Resilience to Natural Hazards: A Survey of Concepts and Measurements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, August.
    2. Shah Fahad & Mohammad Shakhawat Hossain & Nguyen Thi Lan Huong & Abdelmohsen A. Nassani & Mohamed Haffar & Muhammad Rashid Naeem, 2023. "An assessment of rural household vulnerability and resilience in natural hazards: evidence from flood prone areas," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(6), pages 5561-5577, June.
    3. Francisco Valderrey & Lina Carreño & Simone Lucatello & Emanuele Giorgi, 2023. "Multidisciplinary Evaluation of Vulnerabilities: Communities in Northern Mexico," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-22, August.
    4. Christian Geiß & Hannes Taubenböck, 2013. "Remote sensing contributing to assess earthquake risk: from a literature review towards a roadmap," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 68(1), pages 7-48, August.
    5. Ruby W. Grantham & Murray A. Rudd, 2017. "Household susceptibility to hydrological change in the Lower Mekong Basin," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(1), pages 3-17, February.
    6. Anamaria Bukvic & Guillaume Rohat & Alex Apotsos & Alex de Sherbinin, 2020. "A Systematic Review of Coastal Vulnerability Mapping," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-26, April.
    7. Kerstin Krellenberg & Juliane Welz, 2017. "Assessing Urban Vulnerability in the Context of Flood and Heat Hazard: Pathways and Challenges for Indicator-Based Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 709-731, June.
    8. Kelly Bergstrand & Brian Mayer & Babette Brumback & Yi Zhang, 2015. "Assessing the Relationship Between Social Vulnerability and Community Resilience to Hazards," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 122(2), pages 391-409, June.
    9. Saini Yang & Shuai He & Juan Du & Xiaohua Sun, 2015. "Screening of social vulnerability to natural hazards in China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 76(1), pages 1-18, March.
    10. Yi Peng, 2015. "Regional earthquake vulnerability assessment using a combination of MCDM methods," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 234(1), pages 95-110, November.
    11. Meryl Jagarnath & Tirusha Thambiran & Michael Gebreslasie, 2020. "Heat stress risk and vulnerability under climate change in Durban metropolitan, South Africa—identifying urban planning priorities for adaptation," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 807-829, November.
    12. Ashley C. Freeman & Walker S. Ashley, 2017. "Changes in the US hurricane disaster landscape: the relationship between risk and exposure," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 88(2), pages 659-682, September.
    13. Yongdeng Lei & Jing’ai Wang & Yaojie Yue & Hongjian Zhou & Weixia Yin, 2014. "Rethinking the relationships of vulnerability, resilience, and adaptation from a disaster risk perspective," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 70(1), pages 609-627, January.
    14. Ana Raquel Nunes, 2021. "Exploring the interactions between vulnerability, resilience and adaptation to extreme temperatures," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 109(3), pages 2261-2293, December.
    15. Pujun Liang & Wei Xu & Yunjia Ma & Xiujuan Zhao & Lianjie Qin, 2017. "Increase of Elderly Population in the Rainstorm Hazard Areas of China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, August.
    16. Kamaldeen Mohammed & Evans Batung & Moses Kansanga & Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong & Isaac Luginaah, 2021. "Livelihood diversification strategies and resilience to climate change in semi-arid northern Ghana," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 1-23, February.
    17. Freshwater, David, 2014. "Vulnerability and Resilience: Two Dimensions of Rurality," Staff Papers 174103, University of Kentucky, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    18. R. Bryson Touchstone & Kathleen Sherman-Morris, 2016. "Vulnerability to prolonged cold: a case study of the Zeravshan Valley of Tajikistan," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 83(2), pages 1279-1300, September.
    19. Eric Tate, 2012. "Social vulnerability indices: a comparative assessment using uncertainty and sensitivity analysis," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 63(2), pages 325-347, September.
    20. Maithili Ramachandran & K.S. Kavi Kumar & Brinda Viswanathan, 2006. "Vulnerability to Chronic Energy Deficiency: An Empirical Analysis of Women in Uttar Pradesh, India," Working Papers 2006-012, Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:13:y:2016:i:8:p:822-:d:75982. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.