Evaluation of a Four Year Intervention to Reduce Musculoskeletal Hazards Among Berry Growers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brunette CM ; Chapman LJ ; Ehlers JJ ; Karsh B-T ; Meyer RM ; Newenhouse AC ; Pereira KM
• Description:
  Problem: fresh market berry production workers are exposed to physical risk factors for musculoskeletal injury. Method: we disseminated information through trade publications and other sources to berry managers in seven U.S. states about five prevention through design practices that were both safer and more profitable than traditional methods. We administered mail evaluation questionnaires prior to the intervention and after each of four intervention years to rolling, independent U.S. samples and to comparison New Zealand berry farm manager samples after years one through three. Results: U.S. manager self-reports of reading trade publication information increased compared to baseline values for two of five practices and self-reported awareness increased for four of five practices. There were no increases in adoption. More U.S. than New Zealand managers reported getting information about two practices from trade publications and about four practices from public events. No U.S. versus New Zealand differences were observed in reported awareness or adoption for any practice. Impact on Industry: this study showed that even a modest campaign can build awareness of safer practices fairly quickly in three to four years among small agricultural firms but that increasing adoption apparently requires more time. Widespread adoption of safer practices could help keep operators in business longer as they age by reducing the workload and musculoskeletal strain associated with labor intensive crop production for them and their workforce. Adoption of practices that also improve profits, like the five practices featured in this study, could also help managers stay in business. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Agricultural-industry Agricultural-workers Author Keywords: Agriculture Evaluation Studies Intervention Studies Musculoskeletal-system Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Occupational Health Questionnaires Risk-factors Surveillance-programs Work-analysis Work-practices

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• ISSN:
  0022-4375
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5 ; Wisconsin
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  215-224
• Volume:
  39
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20033804
• Citation:
  J Safety Res 2008 Apr; 39(2):215-224
• Contact Point Address:
  Larry J. Chapman, Biological Systems Engineering Department, University of Wisconsin, 460 Henry Mall, Madison, WI USA 53706
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20030930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Safety Research
• End Date:
  20080929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:340d0ebae4163016210ff05311c29f432a3536d966591c4352e9ee8796f1644df2066dfb0a3e117bf65cec7ef44125c728e51d16249e516c09466bed59855815
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/189244/cdc_189244_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 631.83 KB ]