Risk Factors for Lacerations in Meatpacking

产品说明：这项研究的重点是调查固定和短暂的因素相关的风险上肢（UE）撕裂伤的肉类加工工人，因为1）高利率的UE创伤和相关的经济成本已被充分记录在美国的劳动力; 2）现有的数据表明高利率的UE创伤肉类加工工人，虽然很少有经验数据的风险和因果关系的因素; 3）我们以前研究肉类加工和其他职业伤害的经验支持了这样一种假设，即可以确定可改变的危险因素，以最终减少肉类加工行业中UE创伤的发生。 将研究中西部猪肉加工设施每天加工9,000至10,000头猪。 向工厂职业健康诊所报告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。将使用病例交叉方法评价存在临时工作人员相关风险因素（如个人防护设备使用、匆忙、从事不熟悉的切割任务和UE疼痛）时UE撕裂伤的风险。对于病例交叉分析，将询问病例在受伤前的对照期内存在稳定和短暂暴露的情况下的伤害事件，并与受伤前的风险期进行比较。在存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史）的情况下，将使用病例对照方法评价UE撕裂伤的风险。对于病例对照分析，将病例与病例受伤时在工厂工作的对照进行匹配，并使用条件logistic回归比较风险因素暴露，调整固定协变量，如年龄、教育、利手和撕裂史。使用这两种方法是一种综合的方法来研究一系列潜在的可改变的风险因素，这些风险因素可以直接转化为预防性干预策略，以减少这一高风险行业的撕裂发生。

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.