This study examined the association between circumstances of occupational same-level falls and th... more This study examined the association between circumstances of occupational same-level falls and the risk of wrist, ankle and hip fracture in women over 45 years of age. Cases of fractures and matched controls who suffered non-fracture injuries, all from same-level falls, were selected from workers' compensation claims data. Cases and controls were matched on age, season of fall, industry and state. Information was obtained about manual material handling, fall hazard, initiating event and fall location. Falls during pushing/pulling were associated with increased wrist fracture risk. Falls due to tripping were associated with increased wrist fracture risk, but decreased risk of ankle fracture. Falling outdoors was associated with increased wrist and ankle fracture risk. Increasing age was associated with increased injury risk from tripping-initiated vs. slipping-initiated falls. Few circumstances increased risk of fracture at multiple sites, indicating that they affect risk of fracture by primarily affecting point of impact. The proportion of female workers over 45 years of age, who are at increased risk of fracture, is increasing in developed countries. This study examined the associations between circumstances of falls and wrist, ankle and hip fracture risks among these workers and found that the associations differed by fracture sites.
This study examined the associations between rushing, distraction and walking on contaminated flo... more This study examined the associations between rushing, distraction and walking on contaminated floors and the risk of slipping. Effect modification by hours worked per week, job tenure and use of slip-resistant shoes were also examined. Workers from 36 limited-service restaurants in the USA were recruited to participate in a 12-week cohort study of workplace slipping. At baseline, participants reported average
In 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the incidence rate of lost workday injuries... more In 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the incidence rate of lost workday injuries from slips, trips and falls (STFs) on the same level in hospitals was 35.2 per 10,000 full-time equivalents (FTE), which was 75% greater than the average rate for all other private industries combined (20.2 per 10,000 FTEs). The objectives of this 10-year (1996-2005) longitudinal study were to: 1) describe occupational STF injury events in hospitals; 2) evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive programme for reducing STF incidents among hospital employees. The comprehensive prevention programme included analysis of injury records to identify common causes of STFs, on-site hazard assessments, changes to housekeeping procedures and products, introduction of STF preventive products and procedures, general awareness campaigns, programmes for external ice and snow removal, flooring changes and slip-resistant footwear for certain employee subgroups. The hospitals' total STF workers' compensation claims rate declined by 58% from the pre-intervention (1996-1999) rate of 1.66 claims per 100 FTE to the post-intervention (2003-2005) time period rate of 0.76 claims per 100 FTE (adjusted rate ratio = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.33-0.54). STFs due to liquid contamination (water, fluid, slippery, greasy and slick spots) were the most common cause (24%) of STF claims for the entire study period 1996-2005. Food services, transport/emergency medical service and housekeeping staff were at highest risk of a STF claim in the hospital environment. Nursing and office administrative staff generated the largest numbers of STF claims. STF injury events in hospitals have a myriad of causes and the work conditions in hospitals are diverse. This research provides evidence that implementation of a broad-scale prevention programme can significantly reduce STF injury claims.
The purpose of this study is to explore and examine, specific to the restaurant industry, two imp... more The purpose of this study is to explore and examine, specific to the restaurant industry, two important constructs emerging from the safety climate literature: employee perceptions of safety training and management commitment to safety. Are these two separate constructs? Are there both individual- and shared group-level safety perceptions for these two constructs? What are the relationships between these two constructs and future injury outcomes? A total of 419 employees from 34 limited-service restaurants participated in a prospective cohort study. Employees' perceptions of management commitment to safety and safety training and demographic variables were collected at the baseline. The survey questions were made available in three languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese. For the following 12 weeks, participants reported their injury experience and weekly work hours. A multivariate negative binomial generalized estimating equation model with compound symmetry covariance structure was used to assess the association between the rate of self-reported injuries and measures of safety perceptions. Even though results showed that the correlation between employees'perceived safety training and management commitment to safety was high, confirmatory factor analysis of measurement models showed that two separate factors fit the model better than as two dimensions of a single factor. Homogeneity tests showed that there was a shared perception of the factor of management commitment to safety for the restaurant workers but there was no consistent perception among them for the factor of perceived safety training. Both individual employees'perceived management commitment to safety and perceptions of safety training can predict employees' subsequent injuries above and beyond demographic variables. However, there was no significant relationship between future injury and employees' shared perception of management commitment to safety. Further, our results suggest that the variable of employees'perceived safety training could be a proximal predictor of future injury outcome which mediated the relationship between employees'perceived management commitment to safety (a distal predictor) and injury outcome. We propose that when employees perceive their management as having a high level of commitment to safety, they will also perceive that the safety training of the organization is good, which will then further predict future injury experience of the employees.
In 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the incidence rate of lost workday injuries... more In 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the incidence rate of lost workday injuries from slips, trips and falls (STFs) on the same level in hospitals was 35.2 per 10,000 full-time equivalents (FTE), which was 75% greater than the average rate for all other private industries combined (20.2 per 10,000 FTEs). The objectives of this 10-year (1996-2005) longitudinal study were to: 1) describe occupational STF injury events in hospitals; 2) evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive programme for reducing STF incidents among hospital employees. The comprehensive prevention programme included analysis of injury records to identify common causes of STFs, on-site hazard assessments, changes to housekeeping procedures and products, introduction of STF preventive products and procedures, general awareness campaigns, programmes for external ice and snow removal, flooring changes and slip-resistant footwear for certain employee subgroups. The hospitals' total STF workers' compensation claims rate declined by 58% from the pre-intervention (1996-1999) rate of 1.66 claims per 100 FTE to the post-intervention (2003-2005) time period rate of 0.76 claims per 100 FTE (adjusted rate ratio = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.33-0.54). STFs due to liquid contamination (water, fluid, slippery, greasy and slick spots) were the most common cause (24%) of STF claims for the entire study period 1996-2005. Food services, transport/emergency medical service and housekeeping staff were at highest risk of a STF claim in the hospital environment. Nursing and office administrative staff generated the largest numbers of STF claims. STF injury events in hospitals have a myriad of causes and the work conditions in hospitals are diverse. This research provides evidence that implementation of a broad-scale prevention programme can significantly reduce STF injury claims.
Page 113. Research and Practice for Fall Injury Control in the Workplace 113 Slipping in US Limit... more Page 113. Research and Practice for Fall Injury Control in the Workplace 113 Slipping in US Limited Service Restaurants Santosh K. Verma1, 2 3, Wen-Ruey Chang4, Theodore K. Courtney1, 2, David A Lombardi1, 2, Yueng ...
Many studies have found management commitment to safety to be an important construct of safety cl... more Many studies have found management commitment to safety to be an important construct of safety climate. This study examined the association between supervisor and employee (shared and individual) perceptions of management commitment to safety and the rate of future injuries in limited-service restaurant workers. A total of 453 participants (34 supervisors/managers and 419 employees) from 34 limited-service restaurants participated in a prospective cohort study. Employees' and managers' perceptions of management commitment to safety and demographic variables were collected at the baseline. The survey questions were made available in three languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese. For the following 12 weeks, participants reported their injury experience and weekly work hours. A multivariate negative binomial generalized estimating equation model with compound symmetry covariance structure was used to assess the association between the rate of self-reported injuries and measures of safety perceptions. There were no significant relationships between supervisor and either individual or shared employee perceptions of management commitment to safety. Only individual employee perceptions were significantly associated with future employee injury experience but not supervisor safety perceptions or shared employee perceptions. Individual employee perception of management commitment to safety is a significant predictor for future injuries in restaurant environments. A study focusing on employee perceptions would be more predictive of injury outcomes than supervisor/manager perceptions.
This study examined the association between circumstances of occupational same-level falls and th... more This study examined the association between circumstances of occupational same-level falls and the risk of wrist, ankle and hip fracture in women over 45 years of age. Cases of fractures and matched controls who suffered non-fracture injuries, all from same-level falls, were selected from workers' compensation claims data. Cases and controls were matched on age, season of fall, industry and state. Information was obtained about manual material handling, fall hazard, initiating event and fall location. Falls during pushing/pulling were associated with increased wrist fracture risk. Falls due to tripping were associated with increased wrist fracture risk, but decreased risk of ankle fracture. Falling outdoors was associated with increased wrist and ankle fracture risk. Increasing age was associated with increased injury risk from tripping-initiated vs. slipping-initiated falls. Few circumstances increased risk of fracture at multiple sites, indicating that they affect risk of fracture by primarily affecting point of impact. The proportion of female workers over 45 years of age, who are at increased risk of fracture, is increasing in developed countries. This study examined the associations between circumstances of falls and wrist, ankle and hip fracture risks among these workers and found that the associations differed by fracture sites.
This study examined the associations between rushing, distraction and walking on contaminated flo... more This study examined the associations between rushing, distraction and walking on contaminated floors and the risk of slipping. Effect modification by hours worked per week, job tenure and use of slip-resistant shoes were also examined. Workers from 36 limited-service restaurants in the USA were recruited to participate in a 12-week cohort study of workplace slipping. At baseline, participants reported average
In 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the incidence rate of lost workday injuries... more In 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the incidence rate of lost workday injuries from slips, trips and falls (STFs) on the same level in hospitals was 35.2 per 10,000 full-time equivalents (FTE), which was 75% greater than the average rate for all other private industries combined (20.2 per 10,000 FTEs). The objectives of this 10-year (1996-2005) longitudinal study were to: 1) describe occupational STF injury events in hospitals; 2) evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive programme for reducing STF incidents among hospital employees. The comprehensive prevention programme included analysis of injury records to identify common causes of STFs, on-site hazard assessments, changes to housekeeping procedures and products, introduction of STF preventive products and procedures, general awareness campaigns, programmes for external ice and snow removal, flooring changes and slip-resistant footwear for certain employee subgroups. The hospitals' total STF workers' compensation claims rate declined by 58% from the pre-intervention (1996-1999) rate of 1.66 claims per 100 FTE to the post-intervention (2003-2005) time period rate of 0.76 claims per 100 FTE (adjusted rate ratio = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.33-0.54). STFs due to liquid contamination (water, fluid, slippery, greasy and slick spots) were the most common cause (24%) of STF claims for the entire study period 1996-2005. Food services, transport/emergency medical service and housekeeping staff were at highest risk of a STF claim in the hospital environment. Nursing and office administrative staff generated the largest numbers of STF claims. STF injury events in hospitals have a myriad of causes and the work conditions in hospitals are diverse. This research provides evidence that implementation of a broad-scale prevention programme can significantly reduce STF injury claims.
The purpose of this study is to explore and examine, specific to the restaurant industry, two imp... more The purpose of this study is to explore and examine, specific to the restaurant industry, two important constructs emerging from the safety climate literature: employee perceptions of safety training and management commitment to safety. Are these two separate constructs? Are there both individual- and shared group-level safety perceptions for these two constructs? What are the relationships between these two constructs and future injury outcomes? A total of 419 employees from 34 limited-service restaurants participated in a prospective cohort study. Employees' perceptions of management commitment to safety and safety training and demographic variables were collected at the baseline. The survey questions were made available in three languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese. For the following 12 weeks, participants reported their injury experience and weekly work hours. A multivariate negative binomial generalized estimating equation model with compound symmetry covariance structure was used to assess the association between the rate of self-reported injuries and measures of safety perceptions. Even though results showed that the correlation between employees'perceived safety training and management commitment to safety was high, confirmatory factor analysis of measurement models showed that two separate factors fit the model better than as two dimensions of a single factor. Homogeneity tests showed that there was a shared perception of the factor of management commitment to safety for the restaurant workers but there was no consistent perception among them for the factor of perceived safety training. Both individual employees'perceived management commitment to safety and perceptions of safety training can predict employees' subsequent injuries above and beyond demographic variables. However, there was no significant relationship between future injury and employees' shared perception of management commitment to safety. Further, our results suggest that the variable of employees'perceived safety training could be a proximal predictor of future injury outcome which mediated the relationship between employees'perceived management commitment to safety (a distal predictor) and injury outcome. We propose that when employees perceive their management as having a high level of commitment to safety, they will also perceive that the safety training of the organization is good, which will then further predict future injury experience of the employees.
In 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the incidence rate of lost workday injuries... more In 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the incidence rate of lost workday injuries from slips, trips and falls (STFs) on the same level in hospitals was 35.2 per 10,000 full-time equivalents (FTE), which was 75% greater than the average rate for all other private industries combined (20.2 per 10,000 FTEs). The objectives of this 10-year (1996-2005) longitudinal study were to: 1) describe occupational STF injury events in hospitals; 2) evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive programme for reducing STF incidents among hospital employees. The comprehensive prevention programme included analysis of injury records to identify common causes of STFs, on-site hazard assessments, changes to housekeeping procedures and products, introduction of STF preventive products and procedures, general awareness campaigns, programmes for external ice and snow removal, flooring changes and slip-resistant footwear for certain employee subgroups. The hospitals' total STF workers' compensation claims rate declined by 58% from the pre-intervention (1996-1999) rate of 1.66 claims per 100 FTE to the post-intervention (2003-2005) time period rate of 0.76 claims per 100 FTE (adjusted rate ratio = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.33-0.54). STFs due to liquid contamination (water, fluid, slippery, greasy and slick spots) were the most common cause (24%) of STF claims for the entire study period 1996-2005. Food services, transport/emergency medical service and housekeeping staff were at highest risk of a STF claim in the hospital environment. Nursing and office administrative staff generated the largest numbers of STF claims. STF injury events in hospitals have a myriad of causes and the work conditions in hospitals are diverse. This research provides evidence that implementation of a broad-scale prevention programme can significantly reduce STF injury claims.
Page 113. Research and Practice for Fall Injury Control in the Workplace 113 Slipping in US Limit... more Page 113. Research and Practice for Fall Injury Control in the Workplace 113 Slipping in US Limited Service Restaurants Santosh K. Verma1, 2 3, Wen-Ruey Chang4, Theodore K. Courtney1, 2, David A Lombardi1, 2, Yueng ...
Many studies have found management commitment to safety to be an important construct of safety cl... more Many studies have found management commitment to safety to be an important construct of safety climate. This study examined the association between supervisor and employee (shared and individual) perceptions of management commitment to safety and the rate of future injuries in limited-service restaurant workers. A total of 453 participants (34 supervisors/managers and 419 employees) from 34 limited-service restaurants participated in a prospective cohort study. Employees' and managers' perceptions of management commitment to safety and demographic variables were collected at the baseline. The survey questions were made available in three languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese. For the following 12 weeks, participants reported their injury experience and weekly work hours. A multivariate negative binomial generalized estimating equation model with compound symmetry covariance structure was used to assess the association between the rate of self-reported injuries and measures of safety perceptions. There were no significant relationships between supervisor and either individual or shared employee perceptions of management commitment to safety. Only individual employee perceptions were significantly associated with future employee injury experience but not supervisor safety perceptions or shared employee perceptions. Individual employee perception of management commitment to safety is a significant predictor for future injuries in restaurant environments. A study focusing on employee perceptions would be more predictive of injury outcomes than supervisor/manager perceptions.
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