Validity of self-reported ergonomic exposure data among line-paced production workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Estill, Cheryl F. ; MacDonald, Leslie A. ; Petersen, Martin R. ; Sweeney M
• Description:
  An investigation was conducted at an appliance manufacturing facility to examine the concordance between self-reported ergonomic exposure and exposure data collected by trained ergonomists. Data on exposure were obtained by two methods: (1) self-administered questionnaire and (2) direct observational assessment. Exposure characteristics included in the assessment were repetitive motion patterns of the hands and arms, postural conditions of the shoulders and torso, use of the hand as a hammer (impact force), power tool use, presence of tool suspension, and foot pedal use. For repetition and forward flexion of the torso, responses were categorized into low, moderate, and high. All other variables were dichotomous. Analysis was restricted to all nonrotating line-paced production workers (n=123). Kappa values and percentage agreement were obtained, with and without regard to symptom status. Moderate strength of agreement was found for the presence of tool suspension (kappa=0.49, 79% agreement). Based on kappa values, slight agreement (kappa=0.0 to 0.2) was found for repetition, shoulder elevation, deviations of the torso (moderate flexion, lateral, twist, and extension), and poor agreement (kappa < 0.0) was found for severe forward flexion of the torso, the three-level torso flexion variable, power tool use, impact force, and foot pedal use. As has been reported in other studies, a large discrepancy was found between the results obtained by use of the kappa statistic and the results obtained by percentage agreement, with percentage agreement values being inflated when the exposure event is rare. Presence of symptoms did not have a consistent influence on agreement. These results demonstrate the need to explore methods for improving agreement between self-reports and observational data, even for dichotomous level exposure variables. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Epidemiology Ergonomics Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety Surveys And Questionnaires Workplace
• Keywords:
  Analytical-models Body-regions Exposure-assessment Extremities Force Health-surveys Humans Industrial-exposures Industrial-factory-workers Industrial-processes Motion-studies Posture Power-tools Questionnaires Repetitive-work Statistical-analysis Tools Work-performance Workplace-monitoring

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• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DPSE - Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering ; EID - Education and Information Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  24
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20043716
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 9-15, 1998, Atlanta, Georgia. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 1998 May; :24
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1998
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 9-15, 1998, Atlanta, Georgia
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:33924d2ce8208d91c038ffcaf103925fd6a65122cde33f1a25e70d5f3a529c5aca706ce88a7613177eb07724341be4a05187d29efbf3d00ae4994f30dffb105b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/195539/cdc_195539_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 639.61 KB ]