Risk Factors for Lacerations in Meatpacking

本研究旨在探讨上肢运动障碍的固定和暂时危险因素 肉类加工工人的撕裂伤，因为1）UE创伤和相关的经济 在美国劳动力中，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，虽然很少有经验数据的风险和因果关系的因素;和3）我们以前的 研究肉类加工和其他职业伤害的经验支持这一假设， 可以识别风险因素，以最终减少肉类加工业中UE创伤的发生。 将研究两个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 受伤后不久接受了采访将使用病例交叉方法评价UE的风险 在存在短暂的工人相关危险因素（如个人防护）的情况下发生撕裂伤 设备使用、匆忙、处理不熟悉的切割任务以及UE疼痛。对于病例交叉分析， 将询问病例在对照组中存在稳定和短暂暴露时的损伤事件 在受伤前的一段时间内，并与受伤前的风险期进行比较。病例对照 将使用方法来评估在稳定的人体工程学/工作条件下UE撕裂伤的风险 设计因素包括人员配备水平、使用钝刀和安全培训的历史。为了以防万一- 对照分析，病例将与病例发生时在工厂工作的对照组相匹配。 受伤和风险因素暴露将使用条件logistic回归进行比较，调整固定 协变量，如年龄，教育，利手和裂伤史。使用这两种方法是一种 研究一系列潜在可改变的风险因素的综合方法， 直接纳入预防性干预策略，以减少这一高风险行业的撕裂发生率。

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. Two 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-crossovermethods 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.