Risk Factors for Lacerations in Meatpacking

描述：本研究的重点是调查与肉类加工工人上肢（UE）撕裂伤风险相关的固定和短暂因素，因为1)在美国劳动力中，上肢创伤的高发率和相关的经济成本已经得到了很好的记录；2)现有数据表明，肉类加工工人的UE创伤率很高，但很少有关于风险和因果因素的经验数据；3)我们之前研究肉类加工业和其他职业伤害的经验支持这样的假设，即可以确定可改变的风险因素，最终减少肉类加工业中UE创伤的发生。中西部地区的猪肉加工设施将研究每天加工9,000至10,000头猪。向植物性职业健康诊所报告有UE撕裂伤的工人将被招募为病例，并在受伤事件发生后不久接受采访。病例交叉方法将用于评估与临时工人相关的风险因素，如个人防护设备的使用、匆忙、从事不熟悉的切割任务和UE疼痛。在病例交叉分析中，研究人员将询问患者在受伤前的控制期和受伤前的风险期，在稳定和短暂暴露的情况下发生的损伤事件。病例对照方法将用于评估在稳定的人体工程学/工作设计因素（包括人员配备水平、使用钝刀和安全培训历史）存在的情况下UE撕裂伤的风险。对于病例对照分析，将病例与在该病例受伤的同时在工厂工作的对照组进行匹配，并使用条件逻辑回归对风险因素暴露进行比较，调整固定协变量，如年龄、教育程度、惯用手和撕裂史。这两种方法的使用是一种全面的方法，可以研究一系列潜在的可改变的风险因素，这些因素可以直接转化为预防性干预策略，以减少这个高风险行业中撕裂伤的发生。

DESCRIPTION: This study focuses on investigating fixed and transient factors related to the risk for upper extremity (UE) laceration injuries in meatpacking workers because 1) high rates of UE trauma and associated economic costs have been well documented in the US workforce; 2) existing data suggest high rates of UE trauma in meatpacking workers, although little empirical data are available on risk and causal factors; and 3) our prior experience in studying meatpacking and other occupational injuries supports the hypothesis that modifiable risk factors can be identified to ultimately reduce the occurrence of UE trauma in the meatpacking industry. To Midwest pork processing facilities processing between 9,000 and 10,000 hogs per day will be studied. Workers reporting to plant-based occupational health clinics with a UE laceration will be recruited as cases and interviewed soon after the injury event. Case-crossover methods will be used to evaluate the risk for UE laceration injuries in the presence of transient worker related risk factors such as personal protective equipment use, rushing, working with an unfamiliar cutting task, and UE pain. For case-crossover analyses, cases will be asked about the injury event in the presence of stable and transient exposures in a control period well before the injury and compared to a risk period immediately preceding the injury. Case-control methods will be used to evaluate risk for UE laceration injuries in the presence of stable ergonomic/job design factors including staffing levels, working with dull knives, and history of safety training. For case control analyses, cases will be matched to controls working in the plant at the same time the case was injured and risk factor exposures will be compared using conditional logistic regression, adjusting for fixed covariates such as age, education, handedness and laceration history. Use of the two methodologies is a comprehensive approach to studying a spectrum of potentially modifiable risk factors that can be translated directly into preventive intervention strategies to reduce laceration occurrence in this high risk industry.