Assessing disabling and non-disabling injuries and illnesses using accepted workers compensation claims data to prioritize industries of high risk for Oregon young workers

Understanding Stakeholder Dissemination Preferences for an Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Injury Surveillance System

Researchers and epidemiologists are working to improve the capture of agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AgFF) injuries in a variety of ways. A critical component of any surveillance system is the dissemination of information. The purpose of this paper is to report on a survey conducted with AgFF injury surveillance stakeholders to understand preferred dissemination strategies. The survey was distributed using REDCap via web link to organizational stakeholders, which included advisory board members, safety trainers, industry managers and workers, and research collaborators. In total, there were 75 respondents (21% response rate). Occupation and industry influenced preference in update methods. Regarding the length and breadth of updates, 63% of respondents prefer reports (one to five pages), followed by 57% desiring a summary (less than one page), while only 24% wanted a detailed analysis. Social media and news preferences were also different among stakeholders. Surveillance data were desired for 1) trend analysis, 2) tailoring activities and solutions for education, training, outreach and interventions and 3) for research purposes such as grant proposals and evaluation. The dissemination of injury surveillance data should be tailored to the intended audience. Greater attention needs to be paid to the ways in which we share our findings.

Young workers and safety: A critical review and future research agenda

INTRODUCTION

Research on young worker safety often relies on inconsistent definitions of young workers and poorly delineated indicators of occupational safety. This review aims to reconcile these fundamental issues by critically integrating research across disciplines and providing clear directions for future research on young worker safety.

METHOD

We critically review the extant research on young worker safety.

RESULTS

We first reconcile the inconsistent definitions of young workers and specify the indicators of occupational safety used in young worker safety research. We next describe the prevalence of workplace injuries and population-level predictors of these injuries among young workers and then outline other factors that increase young workers' susceptibility to workplace injuries. Finally, we discuss the convergence of many of these issues on family farms-a context commonly studied in young worker safety research.

CONCLUSIONS

Clearer definitions of young workers and indicators of occupational safety can improve the interpretation and comparability of extant research findings. Furthermore, the prevalence of workplace injuries and population-level predictors of injury among young workers are subject to the interactions among age, gender, minority status, and job characteristics. Other factors that increase young workers' susceptibility to injury include young workers' responses to hazardous work, individual differences stemming from young workers' biological and psychological development, managerial attitudes about young workers, and the limited safety training young workers are thus provided, the types of work that young workers typically perform, and the range of social influences on young workers.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Safety campaigns and safety training should consider interactions among young workers' age, gender, minority status, and job characteristics, rather than considering these features independently.

Understanding occupational safety and health surveillance: expert consensus on components, attributes and example measures for an evaluation framework

BACKGROUND

Occupational safety and health (OSH) surveillance systems track work-related fatalities, injuries and illnesses as well as the presence of workplace hazards and exposures to inform prevention efforts. Periodic evaluation is critical to the improvement of these systems to meet the demand for more timely, complete, accurate and efficient data processing and analysis. Despite the existence of general guidance for public health surveillance evaluation, no tailored guidance exists for evaluating OSH surveillance systems to date. This study utilized the Delphi technique to collect consensus among experts in the United States on surveillance elements (components, attributes and measures) to inform the development of a tailored evaluation framework.

METHODS

A Delphi study approach with three survey rounds invited an expert panel to rate and comment on potential OSH surveillance evaluation framework elements, resulting in an optimal list of elements through the panel's consensus. Additionally, experts completed a review of OSH surveillance systems they worked with and answered questions regarding the development of an evaluation framework. Descriptive statistics of the ratings were compiled for the Delphi process. Major themes from experts' comments were further identified using content analysis to inform contextual information underlying their choices.

RESULTS

Fifty-four potential experts across the United States were contacted to participate in the Delphi study. Ten experts began the first survey round with eight then seven experts continuing in the subsequent rounds, respectively. A total of 64 surveillance components, 31 attributes, and 116 example measures were selected into the final list through panel consensus, with 134 (63.5%) reaching high consensus. Major themes regarding current OSH surveillance focused on resources and feasibility, data collection, flexibility, and the inter-relatedness among elements.

CONCLUSIONS

A Delphi process identified tailored OSH surveillance elements and major themes regarding OSH surveillance. The identified elements can serve as a preliminary guide for evaluating OSH surveillance systems. A more detailed evaluation framework is under development to incorporate these elements into a standard yet flexible approach to OSH surveillance evaluation.