Study protocol: the effects of work-site exercise on the physical fitness and work-ability of older workers

BACKGROUND: Older workers have a higher rate and cost of injury than younger workers and with a rapidly ageing work force there is a need to identify strategies to address this problem. Older workers are less physically active and fit than younger workers and so have reduced work ability. The reduced work ability means they are more likely to be fatigued at work and so at greater risk of injury. Exercise could potentially assist this problem. Exercise training has been previously shown to improve fitness in older people however there has been no evaluation of workplace exercise program for older workers. We do not know if the programs are feasible and can improve the fitness and work ability of older workers. We have designed a randomised controlled trial to evaluate whether exercise improves fitness and perceived work-ability of older workers. METHODS/DESIGN: This paper describes the protocol for a trial examining the effects of a 12-week physical training program in workers over the age of 45. Participants will be randomized to an exercise or no-intervention control group. The primary outcomes are cardiorespiratory endurance, lifting capacity, upper and lower limb strength and perceived work-ability. DISCUSSION: This trial will test the feasibility of implementing a worksite-based exercise program as a means of improving the physical fitness and work-ability of older workers performing physically demanding work. If we demonstrate the feasibility of the program we will conduct a larger trial that additionally measures injury outcomes

Descriptive Epidemiology of Serious Work-Related Injuries in British Columbia, Canada

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the rates and distribution of serious work-related injuries by demographic, work and injury characteristics in British Columbia, Canada from 2002-2008, using population-based data. METHODS: Claims for workers with a serious injury were extracted from workers' compensation data. Serious injuries were defined by long duration, high cost, serious medical diagnosis, or fatality. Workforce estimates were used to calculate stratum-specific rates. Rate-ratios (RR) and 95% CIs were calculated using negative binomial regression for the comparison of rates, adjusting for gender, age and occupation. RESULTS: Women had a lower overall serious injury rate compared to men (RR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.87-0.99). The 35-44 age group had the highest overall rate compared to the youngest age group. The rate for severe strains/sprains was similarly high for men and women in the 35-44 age group, although there was a differential pattern by gender for other injury types: the rate of fracture was similar across age groups for men, but increased with age for women (RR: 2.7, 95% CI: 2.2-3.3); and the rate of severe falls increased with age for men and women, with a larger three-fold increase for older women (men: RR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.7-2.1; women: RR: 3.2, 95% CI: 2.7-3.7). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of serious injuries is higher among specific age groups with different patterns emerging for men and women. Variations persisted within similar injury types and occupation groups in our adjusted models. These results provide evidence for the burden of serious injuries and a basis for future analytic research. Given projected demographic shifts and increasing workforce participation of older workers, intervention programs should be carefully implemented with consideration to demographic groups at risk for serious injuries in the workplace

Identifying work related injuries: comparison of methods for interrogating text fields

Background: Work-related injuries in Australia are estimated to cost around $57.5 billion annually, however there are currently insufficient surveillance data available to support an evidence-based public health response. Emergency departments (ED) in Australia are a potential source of information on work-related injuries though most ED’s do not have an ‘Activity Code’ to identify work-related cases with information about the presenting problem recorded in a short free text field. This study compared methods for interrogating text fields for identifying work-related injuries presenting at emergency departments to inform approaches to surveillance of work-related injury.---------- Methods: Three approaches were used to interrogate an injury description text field to classify cases as work-related: keyword search, index search, and content analytic text mining. Sensitivity and specificity were examined by comparing cases flagged by each approach to cases coded with an Activity code during triage. Methods to improve the sensitivity and/or specificity of each approach were explored by adjusting the classification techniques within each broad approach.---------- Results: The basic keyword search detected 58% of cases (Specificity 0.99), an index search detected 62% of cases (Specificity 0.87), and the content analytic text mining (using adjusted probabilities) approach detected 77% of cases (Specificity 0.95).---------- Conclusions The findings of this study provide strong support for continued development of text searching methods to obtain information from routine emergency department data, to improve the capacity for comprehensive injury surveillance

Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders among Nurses in Ibadan, South-west Nigeria: a cross-sectional survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Musculoskeletal disorders represent a significant occupational problem among nurses; however, data on musculoskeletal health of nurses in Sub-Sahara Africa are sparse. This study sought to determine the lifetime, 12-months period and point prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs); the associated job risk factors and the coping strategies toward reducing the risk among nurses from selected hospitals in Ibadan, South-west Nigeria</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A previously validated self administered questionnaire which sought information on demographics, prevalence and pattern of WMSDs, associated job risk factors and coping strategies was employed as the survey instrument. A total of 160 questionnaires were distributed to nurses in the different hospitals but 128 questionnaires were returned yielding an 80% response rate. 10 of the returned questionnaires were excluded because of incomplete data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eighty-four point four percent of the nurses have had WMSDs once or more in their occupational lives. The 12-months period and point prevalence rate of WMSDs at any body region was 78% and 66.1% respectively. WMSDs occurred mostly in low back (44.1%), neck (28.0%), and knees (22.4%). 30.3% treated themselves or had visited other health practitioners for care. Nurses with > 20 years of clinical experience are about 4 times more likely to develop WMSDs (OR 3.81; CI 1.08-13.4) than those with 11-20 years experience. Working in the same positions for long periods (55.1%), lifting or transferring dependent patients (50.8%) and treating an excessive number of patients in one day (44.9%) were the most perceived job risk factors for WMSDs. Getting help in handling heavy patients (50.4%), modification of nursing procedures in order to avoid re-injury (45.4%), and modifying patient's/nurse position (40.3%) were the top three coping strategies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A high proportion of Nigerian nurses reported WMSDs at some body site in their occupational lives with the low back being injured most often. Education programmes on prevention and coping strategies for musculoskeletal disorders are recommended for nurses in order to reduce the rate of occupational hazards and also promote efficiency in patient care.</p