Risk Factors for Lacerations in Meatpacking

本研究的重点是调查与上肢(UE)风险相关的固定和暂时性因素。 肉类加工厂工人的撕裂伤，因为1)UE创伤和相关经济损失的高发生率 成本在美国劳动力中得到了很好的记录；2)现有数据表明，在美国，UE创伤的比率很高 肉类加工厂工人，尽管关于风险和因果因素的经验数据很少；以及3)我们之前的 研究肉类加工和其他职业伤害的经验支持这样一种假设： 可以确定风险因素，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9000至10,000头猪。 到工厂职业卫生诊所报告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了采访。将使用病例交叉方法来评估UE的风险 在存在个人防护等与暂住工人相关的危险因素的情况下发生撕裂伤 使用设备，匆忙，处理不熟悉的切割任务，以及疼痛。对于病例交叉分析， 在对照组中存在稳定和短暂暴露的情况下，将询问病例关于伤害事件的情况 早在受伤之前的时期，并与紧接受伤之前的风险期进行比较。病例对照 在人体工程学/工作稳定的情况下，将使用各种方法来评估UE撕裂伤的风险 设计因素包括人员配备水平、使用钝刀工作以及安全培训历史。在此情况下- 控制分析，案例将与工厂工作的控制相匹配，同时案例被 受伤和危险因素暴露将使用条件Logistic回归进行比较，对固定因素进行调整 协变量包括年龄、教育程度、利手和撕裂病史。使用这两种方法是一种 研究一系列可转换的潜在可修改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事件发生。

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.