Inter-Rater Reliability of Ergonomic Work Demands for Childcare Workers Using the Observation Instrument TRACK

The aim of this study is to evaluate the inter-rater reliability of a newly developed instrument-TRACK (observaTion woRk demAnds Childcare worK) for observations of ergonomic work demands in childcare work. Two trained raters conducted thirty hours of concurrent observation of fifteen childcare workers in three different day nurseries. Inter-rater reliability of ergonomic work demands was evaluated using Gwet’s Agreement Coefficient (AC1) and interpreted by the Landis and Koch benchmark scale. Twenty ergonomic work demand items were evaluated. Inter-rater reliability was ‘almost perfect’ for nine items (AC1 0.81–1.00), ‘substantial’ for four items (AC1 0.61–0.80), ‘moderate’ for four items (AC1 0.41–0.60), ‘fair’ for two items (AC1 0.21–0.40), and ‘slight’ (AC1 0.00–0.20) for one item. No items had ‘poor’ (AC1 < 0.00) agreement. The instrument is reliable for assessing ergonomic work demands in childcare in real-life settings

Agreement between an expert-rated mini job exposure matrix of occupational biomechanical exposures to the lower body and technical measurements or observation: a method comparison study

Objectives Investigating the agreement between an expert-rated mini job exposure matrix (JEM) of lower body exposures and technical measurements of worktime spent standing/walking and observation-based estimates of time spent kneeling/squatting and total load lifted per workday.Methods We chose 16 job titles from the 121 job groups in the lower body JEM and included them in the mini JEM. New expert ratings for the mini JEM were performed by the same five occupational physicians who performed the ratings for the lower body JEM. For each job title and type of exposure, the exposure estimates were a mean of the five independent ratings. Technical measurements of standing/walking for all 16 job titles, and for 8 job titles workplace observations were performed of kneeling/squatting and total load lifted per workday. Data were collected from September to December 2015 and supplemented by data from the NOMAD and DPhacto studies collected between 2011 and 2013. All data were collected in Denmark. Agreement between expert-based and measured/observed lower body exposures by job titles was evaluated using Spearman’s rank correlation, Bland-Altman plots evaluated systematic deviations and limits of agreement (LoA).Results Standing/walking showed a rank correlation of 0.55, kneeling/squatting 0.83 and total load lifted per workday 0.71. The mini JEM estimates did not systematically deviate from the technical measurements/observations for time spent standing/walking (mean difference 0.20 hours/workday, LoA −1.63, 2.03 hours/workday) and kneeling/squatting (mean difference −0.35 hours/workday, LoA −1.21, 0.51 hours/workday). For total load lifted per workday, the mini JEM systematically overestimated the exposures compared with the observations (mean difference −909 kg/workday, LoA −3000, 1147 kg/workday).Conclusions There was moderate to very high agreement between an expert-rated mini JEM of standing/walking, kneeling/squatting, and lifting exposures and corresponding technical measurements/observations. This method comparison study supports the use of the expert-based lower body JEM in large-scale occupational epidemiological studies

Data_Sheet_1_Source-specific nitrate and nitrite intakes and associations with sociodemographic factors in the Danish Diet Cancer and Health cohort.docx

BackgroundThe dietary source and intake levels of nitrate and nitrite may govern its deleterious versus beneficial effects on human health. Existing evidence on detailed source-specific intake is limited. The objectives of this study were to assess nitrate and nitrite intakes from different dietary sources (plant-based foods, animal-based foods, and water), characterize the background diets of participants with low and high intakes, and investigate how sociodemographic and lifestyle factors associate with intake levels.MethodsIn the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health Cohort, sociodemographic and lifestyle information was obtained from participants at enrolment (1993–1997). Source-dependent nitrate and nitrite intakes were calculated using comprehensive food composition databases, with tap water nitrate intakes estimated via the national drinking water quality monitoring database linked with participants’ residential addresses from 1978 to 2016. Underlying dietary patterns were examined using radar plots comparing high to low consumers while sociodemographic predictors of source-dependent nitrate intakes were investigated using linear regression models.ResultsIn a Danish cohort of 55,754 participants aged 50–65 at enrolment, the median [IQR] intakes of dietary nitrate and nitrite were 58.13 [44.27–74.90] mg/d and 1.79 [1.43–2.21] mg/d, respectively. Plant-based foods accounted for ~76% of nitrate intake, animal-based foods ~10%, and water ~5%. Nitrite intake was sourced roughly equally from plants and animals. Higher plant-sourced nitrate intake was associated with healthier lifestyles, better dietary patterns, more physical activity, higher education, lower age and lower BMI. Females and participants who had never smoked also had significantly higher plant-sourced nitrate intakes. Higher water-sourced nitrate intake was linked to sociodemographic risk factors (smoking, obesity, lower education). Patterns for animal-sourced nitrate were less clear.ConclusionParticipants with higher plant-sourced nitrate intakes tend to be healthier while participants with higher water-sourced nitrate intakes tended to be unhealthier than their low consuming counterparts. Future research in this cohort should account for the sociodemographic and dietary predictors of source-specific nitrate intake we have identified.</p