A Case-Control Study of Risk Factors for Laceration Injury Among Pork-Processing Workers in the Midwest

Details

• Personal Author:
  Herstein K ; Lander L ; Mittleman MA ; Perry MJ ; Smith LM ; Sorock, Gary S. ; Stentz TL
• Description:
  Objective: Pork-processing is a fast-paced and physically demanding industry. We wanted to assess fixed risk factors for laceration injury in this occupational setting. Methods: In this case-control study, we assessed age, gender, Hispanic ethnicity, job tenure, work department, and prior presence of hand symptoms. We interviewed 142 matched case-control pairs. Cases were selected from workers who experienced a laceration injury at a meatpacking plant. Controls were selected from workers at the same plant who had not experienced an injury. Cases were paired with controls based on plant and day of week. We used conditional logistic regression to estimate the association between potential determinants and laceration incidence. Results: Cases were slightly younger than controls (mean 37.5 years (SD 11.0) vs. 40.7 years (SD 10.9)). Longer job tenure (42% of cases vs. 58%; OR 0.6, 95% CI:0.38-0.96) and the presence of hand symptoms such as pain or numbness during the previous month (23% of cases vs. 36%; OR 0.55, CI:0.33-0.93) were associated with injury. Gender (68% of cases were male vs. 61% of controls) and Hispanic ethnicity (48% of cases vs. 42% of controls) did not significantly affect laceration risk. A worker's job area was not strongly associated with laceration injury risk (p-value 0.17). Conclusions: Younger workers and workers with shorter job tenure had higher odds of laceration injuries. Age, gender, and ethnicity were not significantly associated with injury. A detailed evaluation of how jobs are performed and how tools are used by meatpacking workers is needed to better design prevention strategies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Food-Processing Industry Food Industry Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Age Factors Animal Products Workers Author Keywords: Occupational Health Food Processing Workers Injuries Injury Risk Meat Packing Industry Occupational Accidents Risk Factors Young Workers
• Publisher:
  American Public Health Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Massachusetts ; Nebraska ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059226
• Citation:
  APHA 139th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 29 - November 2, 2011, Washington, D.C. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 2011 Nov; :252009
• Contact Point Address:
  Lina Lander, ScD, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Epidemiology, 984395 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA 68198-4395
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• Performing Organization:
  George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050901
• Source Full Name:
  APHA 139th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 29 - November 2, 2011, Washington, D.C.
• End Date:
  20110831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8a9eecca7b9d96f80630e3569c675aa6de16ffb64f255155d7c58f0f74145b591f673d3e0191d4d34f545f3163cd3f32f86c4f76ed2f85047f7a129d176f6041
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223514/cdc_223514_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 142.92 KB ]