Scholars@Duke
Hester Johnstone Lipscomb

Hester Johnstone Lipscomb

Professor Emeritus in Family Medicine and Community Health
Family Medicine and Community Health, Occupational & Environmental
hester.lipscomb@duke.edu
Duke Box 3834, Durham, NC 27710
2200 W Main St Ste 700, Durham, NC 27705

Selected Publications

A call from 40 public health scientists for an end to the continuing humanitarian and environmental catastrophe in Gaza.

Journal Article Environ Health · June 28, 2024 An under-recognised aspect of the current humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is the impact of the war on the environment and the associated risks for human health. This commentary contextualises these impacts against the background of human suffering produce ... Full text Link to item Cite

Safety interventions for the prevention of accidents at work: A systematic review.

Journal Article Campbell Syst Rev · June 2022 BACKGROUND: Limited knowledge regarding the relative effectiveness of workplace accident prevention approaches creates barriers to informed decision-making by policy makers, public health practitioners, workplace, and worker advocates. OBJECTIVES: The obje ... Full text Link to item Cite

Perceptions of safety climate across construction personnel: Associations with injury rates

Journal Article Safety Science · October 1, 2019 While there is a growing body of literature on assessing perceptions of safety climate, many of these studies report a company's safety climate as a worker-based phenomenon. Discrepancies in perceptions of safety across different hierarchical groups in an ... Full text Cite

Factors associated with lift equipment use during patient lifts and transfers by hospital nurses and nursing care assistants: A prospective observational cohort study.

Journal Article Int J Nurs Stud · March 2019 BACKGROUND: Despite wide availability of patient lift equipment in hospitals to promote worker and patient safety, nursing staff do not consistently use equipment. OBJECTIVE: To determine the influence of factors on the use or non-use of lift equipment dur ... Full text Link to item Cite

Precarious work among young Danish employees - a permanent or transitory condition?

Journal Article Journal of Youth Studies · January 2, 2019 There is broad agreement that precarious work is a growing problem, and that it is highly prevalent among young employees. The financial crisis in 2008 has reinforced the need for knowledge about how precarious work affects young employees. This paper expl ... Full text Cite

Use of Assistive Devices to Lift, Transfer, and Reposition Hospital Patients.

Journal Article Nurs Res · 2019 BACKGROUND: Devices to lift, transfer, and reposition patients are recommended for healthcare workers' and patients' safety, but their intended use has yet to be fully realized. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe hospital nursing staff use of ... Full text Link to item Cite

Work-Related Injury and Management Strategies Among Certified Athletic Trainers.

Journal Article J Athl Train · June 2018 CONTEXT:   Health care workers have high rates of musculoskeletal injuries, but many of these injuries go unreported to workers' compensation and national surveillance systems. Little is known regarding the work-related injuries of certified athletic train ... Full text Link to item Cite

Safety of union home care aides in Washington State.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · September 2017 INTRODUCTION: A rate-based understanding of home care aides' adverse occupational outcomes related to their work location and care tasks is lacking. METHODS: Within a 30-month, dynamic cohort of 43 394 home care aides in Washington State, injury rates were ... Full text Link to item Cite

Associations between safety climate and safety management practices in the construction industry.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · June 2017 BACKGROUND: Safety climate, a group-level measure of workers' perceptions regarding management's safety priorities, has been suggested as a key predictor of safety outcomes. However, its relationship with actual injury rates is inconsistent. We posit that ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effectiveness of OSHA Outreach Training on carpenters' work-related injury rates, Washington State 2000-2008.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · January 2017 INTRODUCTION: Despite the size and breadth of OSHA's Outreach Training program for construction, information on its impact on work-related injury rates is limited. METHODS: In a 9-year dynamic cohort of 17,106 union carpenters in Washington State, the effe ... Full text Link to item Cite

Work-related illness and injury claims among nationally certified athletic trainers reported to Washington and California from 2001 to 2011.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · December 2016 BACKGROUND: Little is known about the work-related injury and illnesses experienced by certified athletic trainers (AT). METHODS: The incidence and characteristics of injury/illness claims filed in two workers' compensation systems were described from 2001 ... Full text Link to item Cite

Hospital workers bypass traditional occupational injury reporting systems when reporting patient and visitor perpetrated (type II) violence.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · October 2016 BACKGROUND: Under-reporting of type II (patient/visitor-on-worker) violence by workers has been attributed to a lack of essential event details needed to inform prevention strategies. METHODS: Mixed methods including surveys and focus groups were used to e ... Full text Link to item Cite

Surgical Team Stability and Risk of Sharps-Related Blood and Body Fluid Exposures During Surgical Procedures.

Journal Article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · May 2016 OBJECTIVE: To explore whether surgical teams with greater stability among their members (ie, members have worked together more in the past) experience lower rates of sharps-related percutaneous blood and body fluid exposures (BBFE) during surgical procedur ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Surgical Procedure Characteristics and Risk of Sharps-Related Blood and Body Fluid Exposure.

Journal Article Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol · January 2016 OBJECTIVE To use a unique multicomponent administrative data set assembled at a large academic teaching hospital to examine the risk of percutaneous blood and body fluid (BBF) exposures occurring in operating rooms. DESIGN A 10-year retrospective cohort de ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

An urgent need to understand and address the safety and well-being of hospital "sitters".

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · December 2015 BACKGROUND: Hospital sitters provide continuous observation of patients at risk of harming themselves or others. Little is known about sitters' occupational safety and well-being, including experiences with patient/visitor-perpetrated violence (type II). M ... Full text Link to item Cite

Physical assault, physical threat, and verbal abuse perpetrated against hospital workers by patients or visitors in six U.S. hospitals.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · November 2015 BACKGROUND: An elevated risk of patient/visitor perpetrated violence (type II) against hospital nurses and physicians have been reported, while little is known about type II violence among other hospital workers, and circumstances surrounding these events. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Contrasting patterns of care for musculoskeletal disorders and injuries of the upper extremity and knee through workers' compensation and private health care insurance among union carpenters in Washington State, 1989 to 2008.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · September 2015 BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders (MSDIs) are common reasons for visits to medical providers in the general population and they are common work-related complaints. Prior reports raise concerns as to whether declines in workers' compensatio ... Full text Link to item Cite

Nail gun injuries treated in U.S emergency departments, 2006-2011: not just a worker safety issue.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · August 2015 BACKGROUND: Nail guns increase productivity in residential building but with a corresponding increase in worker injuries. They are also easily accessible, at low cost, to consumers. METHODS: Data from the occupational supplement to the National Electronic ... Full text Link to item Cite

Non-reporting of work injuries and aspects of jobsite safety climate and behavioral-based safety elements among carpenters in Washington State.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · April 2015 BACKGROUND: Declining work injury rates may reflect safer work conditions as well as under-reporting. METHODS: Union carpenters were invited to participate in a mailed, cross-sectional survey designed to capture information about injury reporting practices ... Full text Link to item Cite

Workers' compensation claims for musculoskeletal disorders and injuries of the upper extremity and knee among union carpenters in Washington State, 1989-2008.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · April 2015 BACKGROUND: Numerous aspects of construction place workers at risk of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries (MSDIs). Work organization and the nature of MSDIs create surveillance challenges. METHODS: By linking union records with workers' compensation cla ... Full text Link to item Cite

Musculoskeletal concerns do not justify failure to use safer sequential trigger to prevent acute nail gun injuries.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · April 2015 BACKGROUND: Acute nail gun injuries can be controlled significantly by using tools with sequential triggers and training. Concern has been raised that sequential triggers, which require that the nose piece of the gun be depressed prior to pulling the trigg ... Full text Link to item Cite

Company size and differences in injury prevalence among apprentices in building and construction in Norway

Journal Article Safety Science · January 1, 2015 An increased risk for injuries is found in small enterprises, and is especially evident for the construction industry. Our aim was to study injury risk among apprentices in different sized enterprises within different building and construction trades. The ... Full text Cite

Rates of and circumstances surrounding work-related falls from height among union drywall carpenters in Washington State, 1989-2008.

Journal Article J Safety Res · December 2014 BACKGROUND: Drywall installers are at high risk for work-related falls from height (FFH). METHODS: We defined a 20-year (1989-2008) cohort of 5,073 union drywall carpenters in Washington State, their worker-hours, and FFH. FFH rate patterns were examined u ... Full text Link to item Cite

Twenty years of workers' compensation costs due to falls from height among union carpenters, Washington state.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · September 2014 BACKGROUND: Falls from height (FFH) are a longstanding, serious problem in construction. METHODS: We report workers' compensation (WC) payments associated with FFH among a cohort (n = 24,830; 1989-2008) of carpenters. Mean/median payments, cost rates, and ... Full text Link to item Cite

Impact of hospital type II violent events: use of psychotropic drugs and mental health services.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · June 2014 BACKGROUND: While violence can adversely affect mental health of victims, repercussions of violence against workers is not as well characterized. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We explored relationships between workplace violent events perpetrated by patients or v ... Full text Link to item Cite

Declining rates of work-related overexertion back injuries among union drywall installers in Washington State, 1989-2008: Improved work safety or shifting of care?

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · February 2014 INTRODUCTION: Construction workers are at high risk of work-related musculoskeletal back disorders, and research suggests medical care and costs associated with these conditions may be covered by sources other than workers' compensation (WC). Little is kno ... Full text Link to item Cite

How well are we controlling falls from height in construction? Experiences of union carpenters in Washington State, 1989-2008.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · January 2014 BACKGROUND: Falls from height (FFH) continue to cause significant morbidity and mortality across the construction industry. METHODS: By linking data on work hours with workers' compensation records, rates of work-related injuries resulting from FFH and ass ... Full text Link to item Cite

Work-related injuries among union drywall carpenters in Washington State, 1989-2008.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · October 2013 BACKGROUND: Drywall installers are at high-risk of work-related injury. Comprehensive descriptive epidemiology of injuries among drywall installers, particularly over time, is lacking. METHODS: We identified worker-hours and reported and accepted workers' ... Full text Link to item Cite

Organization of work in the agricultural, forestry, and fishing sector in the US southeast: implications for immigrant workers' occupational safety and health.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · August 2013 BACKGROUND: There is widespread agreement that work organization is an important element of occupational safety and health, but the health effects of many aspects of work organization are likely to vary considerably across different sectors of work and geo ... Full text Link to item Cite

Work-related injuries involving a hand or fingers among union carpenters in Washington State, 1989 to 2008.

Journal Article J Occup Environ Med · July 2013 OBJECTIVE: We evaluated work-related injuries involving a hand or fingers and associated costs among a cohort of 24,830 carpenters between 1989 and 2008. METHODS: Injury rates and rate ratios were calculated by using Poisson regression to explore higher ri ... Full text Link to item Cite

Twenty years of work-related injury and illness among union carpenters in Washington State.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · April 2013 BACKGROUND: Individuals who work in the construction industry are at high risk of occupational injury. Robust surveillance systems are needed to monitor the experiences of these workers over time. METHODS: We updated important surveillance data for a uniqu ... Full text Link to item Cite

Safety, incentives, and the reporting of work-related injuries among union carpenters: "you're pretty much screwed if you get hurt at work".

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · April 2013 BACKGROUND: In the high-risk construction industry little is known about the prevalence or effects of programs offering rewards for workers and/or their supervisors for improved safety records or those that punish workers in some way for injury. METHODS: W ... Full text Link to item Cite

Perpetrator, worker and workplace characteristics associated with patient and visitor perpetrated violence (Type II) on hospital workers: a review of the literature and existing occupational injury data.

Journal Article J Safety Res · February 2013 PROBLEM: Non-fatal type II violence experienced by hospital workers (patient/visitor-on-worker violence) is not well described. METHODS: Hospital administration data (2004-2009) were examined for purposes of calculating rates of type II violent events expe ... Full text Link to item Cite

Fall prevention and safety communication training for foremen: report of a pilot project designed to improve residential construction safety.

Journal Article J Safety Res · February 2013 PROBLEM: Falls from heights account for 64% of residential construction worker fatalities and 20% of missed work days. We hypothesized that worker safety would improve with foremen training in fall prevention and safety communication. METHOD: Training prio ... Full text Link to item Cite

Musculoskeletal injuries among hospital patient care staff before and after implementation of patient lift and transfer equipment.

Journal Article Scand J Work Environ Health · January 2013 OBJECTIVE: Using an observational research design and robust surveillance data, we evaluated rates of musculoskeletal (MS) injuries, days away from work, and restricted work days among patient care staff at a medical center and community hospital in the Un ... Full text Link to item Cite

Evaluation of direct workers' compensation costs for musculoskeletal injuries surrounding interventions to reduce patient lifting.

Journal Article Occup Environ Med · May 2012 OBJECTIVES: We evaluated costs for workers' compensation (WC) injuries of a musculoskeletal (MS) nature in a large tertiary care hospital and an affiliated community hospital in the 13 years surrounding an institution-wide shift to a 'minimal manual patien ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cultural influences on workplace safety: An example of hospital workers' adoption of patient lifting devices

Journal Article Safety Science · March 1, 2012 Aims: A sociological and anthropological view of culture was used to investigate how work culture, independent of " safety culture" , may affect safety in the workplace. We explored how work cultures of nurses and physical/occupational therapists (PT/OTs) ... Full text Cite

Musculoskeletal symptoms among female garment factory workers in Sri Lanka.

Journal Article Int J Occup Environ Health · 2012 OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms and their association with sociodemographic risk factors among female garment factory workers in Sri Lanka. METHODS: 1058 randomly selected female garment factory workers employed in the free ... Full text Link to item Cite

Outcomes of a revised apprentice carpenter fall prevention training curriculum.

Journal Article Work · 2012 Falls from heights are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among construction workers, especially inexperienced workers and those performing residential construction. This research reports changes in fall prevention behaviors following revision of f ... Full text Link to item Cite

Implementation and adoption of mechanical patient lift equipment in the hospital setting: The importance of organizational and cultural factors.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · December 2011 BACKGROUND: Work focused on understanding implementation and adoption of interventions designed to prevent patient-handling injuries in the hospital setting is lacking in the injury literature and may be more insightful than more traditional evaluation mea ... Full text Link to item Cite

Objective measures of adoption of patient lift and transfer devices to reduce nursing staff injuries in the hospital setting.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · December 2011 BACKGROUND: Interventions to reduce patient-handling injuries in the hospital setting are often evaluated based on their effect on outcomes such as injury rates. Measuring intervention adoption could address how and why observed trends in the outcome occur ... Full text Link to item Cite

Depressive symptoms in women working in a poultry-processing plant: a longitudinal analysis.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · October 2011 BACKGROUND: Work in poultry-processing plants is physically demanding, and a number of studies have documented the effects of such work on the physical health of workers. Few studies, however, have examined the potential effects on mental health. METHODS: ... Full text Link to item Cite

A lift assist team in an acute care hospital-prevention of injury or transfer of risk during patient-handling tasks?

Journal Article AAOHN J · August 2011 A Lift Assist Team (LAT) was created on three units at a medical center where nursing staff were at high risk for patient-handling injuries. LAT members were drawn from the hospital's pool of patient transporters. Using qualitative and quantitative data, t ... Full text Link to item Cite

Buyer beware: personnel selling nail guns know little about dangerous tools.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · August 2011 BACKGROUND: Nail gun use is ubiquitous in wood frame construction. Accessibility and decreasing costs have extended associated occupational hazards to consumers. Compelling evidence documents decreased injury risk among trained users and those with tools w ... Full text Link to item Cite

Non-fatal construction industry fall-related injuries treated in US emergency departments, 1998-2005.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · February 2011 BACKGROUND: There is a growing recognition that common occupational injury surveillance systems in the US fail to reflect true injury risk; this failure limits efforts to accurately monitor efforts to prevent work-related injuries on a national level. METH ... Full text Link to item Cite

Medical care surrounding work-related back injury claims among Washington State Union Carpenters, 1989-2003.

Journal Article Work · 2011 OBJECTIVE: We describe medical care received through workers' compensation (WC) and union-provided insurance surrounding work-related back injuries and examine relationships between care provided and time off work among a large cohort of carpenters. METHOD ... Full text Link to item Cite

Prospective study of incident injuries among southeastern United States commercial fishermen.

Journal Article Occup Environ Med · December 2010 OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe occupational exposures and the incidence of non-fatal injuries among a group of southeastern US small-scale fishermen. METHODS: Participants (n=219) were enrolled in a prospective cohort study and follow ... Full text Link to item Cite

Assessment of physical risk factors for the shoulder using the Posture, Activity, Tools, and Handling (PATH) method in small-scale commercial crab pot fishing.

Journal Article J Agromedicine · October 2010 An observational work-sampling technique--Posture, Activity, Tools, and Handling (PATH)--was used to describe the prevalence of awkward postures and other physical risk factors for shoulder symptoms among a purposive sample of 11 small-scale commercial cra ... Full text Link to item Cite

Changes in fall prevention training for apprentice carpenters based on a comprehensive needs assessment.

Journal Article J Safety Res · June 2010 PROBLEM: Falls from heights in residential construction are common, especially among inexperienced workers. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive needs assessment to determine gaps in the school-based apprentice carpenters' fall prevention training. A team ... Full text Link to item Cite

Non-fatal contact injuries among workers in the construction industry treated in U.S. emergency departments, 1998-2005.

Journal Article J Safety Res · June 2010 PROBLEM: The National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) for the construction industry calls for efforts to identify areas where guidance and regulation are needed to adequately prevent traumatic injuries resulting from a worker coming into contact with o ... Full text Link to item Cite

Nonfatal tool- or equipment-related injuries treated in US emergency departments among workers in the construction industry, 1998-2005.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · June 2010 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Individuals in the construction industry are exposed to a variety of tools and pieces of equipment as they work. METHODS: Data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) occupational supplement to the National Electr ... Full text Link to item Cite

Nonfatal construction industry-related injuries treated in hospital emergency departments in the United States, 1998-2005.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · June 2010 BACKGROUND: This study documented the burden of nonfatal construction industry work-related injuries treated in hospital emergency departments in the United States (US) from 1998 through 2005 and described injured worker demographics and injury characteris ... Full text Link to item Cite

Continued progress in the prevention of nail gun injuries among apprentice carpenters: what will it take to see wider spread injury reductions?

Journal Article J Safety Res · June 2010 Featured Publication PROBLEM: Nail guns are a common source of acute, and potentially serious, injury in residential construction. METHOD: Data on nail gun injuries, hours worked and hours of tool use were collected in 2008 from union apprentice carpenters (n=464) through clas ... Full text Link to item Cite

Fall prevention among apprentice carpenters.

Journal Article Scand J Work Environ Health · May 2010 OBJECTIVES: Falls from heights are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the construction industry, especially among inexperienced workers. We surveyed apprentice carpenters to identify individual and organizational factors associated with falls fr ... Full text Link to item Cite

Informal social status among coworkers and risk of work-related injury among nurse aides in long-term care.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · May 2010 BACKGROUND: A social network measure was used to explore whether one's rank in an informal social hierarchy of nurse aides employed in a single long-term care facility was associated with risk of work-related injury. METHODS: Six months of administrative s ... Full text Link to item Cite

Physical assault among nursing staff employed in acute care.

Journal Article Work · 2010 Hospital workers are known to be at risk of physical assault. The objective of this study is to characterize injuries resulting from physical assault among hospital nursing staff and to identify associated risk factors. Workers' compensation reports linked ... Full text Link to item Cite

Surveillance of nail gun injuries by journeymen carpenters provides important insight into experiences of apprentices.

Journal Article New Solut · 2010 Featured Publication Experienced journeymen conducted detailed surveillance interviews with injured apprentice carpenters (n = 413). Nail gun injuries commonly occurred due to inadvertent discharge, ricocheting or projectile nails, and penetration of the wood surface. Framing ... Full text Link to item Cite

Perspectives of residential contractors on nail gun safety.

Journal Article New Solut · 2010 Perspectives on nail gun safety were sought from residential contractors as part of an injury surveillance and prevention effort (2005-2008). Anonymous surveys inquired about tool use, training, injury risk, and awareness of the 2003 American National Stan ... Full text Link to item Cite

Predictors of lost time from work among nursing personnel who sought treatment for back pain.

Journal Article Work · 2010 OBJECTIVE: To examine possible predictors of lost workdays among nurses and nurses' aides who sought treatment for work-related back pain. PARTICIPANTS: Nursing staff employed at a tertiary care medical center over a 13-year time period (1994 through 2006) ... Full text Link to item Cite

Occupational injuries among aides and nurses in acute care.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · December 2009 BACKGROUND: Occupational injuries are common among nursing personnel. Most epidemiologic research on nursing aides comes from long-term care settings. Reports from acute care settings often combine data on nurses and aides even though their job requirement ... Full text Link to item Cite

Predictors of delayed return to work after back injury: A case-control analysis of union carpenters in Washington State.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · November 2009 METHODS: Union administrative records identified 20,642 union carpenters who worked in Washington State from 1989 to 2003. The Department of Labor and Industries provided records of workers' compensation claims and associated medical care. Work-related bac ... Full text Link to item Cite

Who is paying the bills? Health care costs for musculoskeletal back disorders, Washington State Union Carpenters, 1989-2003.

Journal Article J Occup Environ Med · October 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: Factors associated with private health insurance payment rates for musculoskeletal back disorders were examined among a 15-year cohort of union carpenters. Payment patterns were contrasted with work-related back injury rates over time. METHODS: ... Full text Link to item Cite

Compensation costs of work-related back disorders among union carpenters, Washington State 1989-2003.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · August 2009 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: We measured resources used to provide medical care and to estimate lost productivity represented by payments for lost work time or impairment for work-related back injuries among a large cohort of union carpenters over 15 years. METHODS: Using ... Full text Link to item Cite

Musculoskeletal injuries resulting from patient handling tasks among hospital workers.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · July 2009 BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate musculoskeletal injuries and disorders resulting from patient handling prior to the implementation of a "minimal manual lift" policy at a large tertiary care medical center. We sought to define the circ ... Full text Link to item Cite

Fall hazard control observed on residential construction sites.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · June 2009 BACKGROUND: Falls are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the construction industry. This study measured fall hazards at residential construction sites. METHODS: Trained carpenters administered the St. Louis Audit of Fall Risks and interviewed ca ... Full text Link to item Cite

Health care utilization for musculoskeletal back disorders, Washington State union carpenters, 1989-2003.

Journal Article J Occup Environ Med · May 2009 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: Private health care utilization rates for musculoskeletal back disorders were contrasted to rates of work-related injuries or disorders for a large cohort of union carpenters over a 15-year period. METHODS: Yearly utilization rates were compared ... Full text Link to item Cite

Ergonomic risk factors for low back pain in North Carolina crab pot and gill net commercial fishermen.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · April 2009 BACKGROUND: The objective of this research was to determine the association between LBP that limited or interrupted fishing work and ergonomic low back stress measured by (1) self-reported task and (2) two ergonomic assessment methods of low back stress. M ... Full text Link to item Cite

Upper-extremity musculoskeletal symptoms and physical health related quality of life among women employed in poultry processing and other low-wage jobs in northeastern North Carolina.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · April 2009 BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between upper-extremity musculoskeletal symptoms (MS) and diminished physical health related quality of life (PHRQoL) in a population of women, mostly African-American working in poultry ... Full text Link to item Cite

"Safety is everyone's job:" the key to safety on a large university construction site.

Journal Article J Safety Res · 2009 PROBLEM: Construction risk management is challenging. METHOD: We combined data on injuries, costs, and hours worked, obtained through a Rolling Owner-Controlled Insurance Program (ROCIP), with data from focus groups, interviews, and field observations, to ... Full text Link to item Cite

Job characteristics and work organization factors associated with patient-handling injury among nursing personnel.

Journal Article Work · 2009 The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the association of worker characteristics and work organization factors with prevalence of patient-handling injury among nursing personnel in an acute-care inpatient setting. Self-administered questionna ... Full text Link to item Cite

Systematic reviews of workplace injury interventions: what are we missing?

Journal Article Med Lav · 2009 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: There are pitfalls associated with applying a biomedical model with its emphasis on experimental designs to the evaluation of workplace injury interventions. OBJECTIVES: Evaluation over enough time is essential in occupational safety when inter ... Link to item Cite

Incident and recurrent back injuries among union carpenters.

Journal Article Occup Environ Med · December 2008 Featured Publication AIMS: To describe incident and recurrent work-related back injuries among union carpenters, describe the hazard function for each and associated risk factors, and explore predictors of subsequent musculoskeletal back injury based on different definitions o ... Full text Link to item Cite

Prevention of traumatic nail gun injuries in apprentice carpenters: use of population-based measures to monitor intervention effectiveness.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · October 2008 Featured Publication INTRODUCTION: Nail guns are responsible for a significant injury burden in residential construction. Risk, based on hours of work, is particularly high among apprentice carpenters due in part to more frequent exposure to tool use. METHODS: Nail gun injurie ... Full text Link to item Cite

Back injuries among union carpenters in Washington State, 1989-2003.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · June 2008 BACKGROUND: There is limited information on occupational back pain specific to carpenters despite their known exposures to recognized occupational risk factors and limited opportunities for modified work due to the predominantly heavy nature of their work. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Surveillance of musculoskeletal injuries and disorders in a diverse cohort of workers at a tertiary care medical center.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · May 2008 BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence of work-related musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries and disorders among a dynamic cohort of health care workers, including direct care providers and support services, employed at a tertiary ... Full text Link to item Cite

Evaluating ergonomic stresses in North Carolina commercial crab pot and gill net fishermen.

Journal Article J Occup Environ Hyg · March 2008 There are challenges in evaluating physical demands of commercial fishing, including identifying sources of exposure variability. Low back biomechanical stresses associated with crab pot and gill net fishing were estimated; the variability was partitioned ... Full text Link to item Cite

Challenges in residential fall prevention: insight from apprentice carpenters.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · January 2008 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Falls remain a serious source of morbidity and mortality in residential construction despite considerable knowledge of risk factors and prevention strategies. While training is universally viewed as positive, we know little about its effectiven ... Full text Link to item Cite

How much time is safety worth? A comparison of trigger configurations on pneumatic nail guns in residential framing.

Journal Article Public Health Rep · 2008 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: Nail gun injuries are among the most common in wood frame construction. Despite evidence that the majority of injuries from unintentional firings could be prevented with a sequential trigger mechanism on the tools, the safer trigger has not been ... Full text Link to item Cite

Development of the St. Louis audit of fall risks at residential construction sites.

Journal Article Int J Occup Environ Health · 2008 We describe the development and pilot testing of the St. Louis Assessment of Fall Risks, a worksite audit to assess fall prevention safety practices on residential construction sites. Surveillance data and feedback from carpenters and safety instructors re ... Full text Link to item Cite

Upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders among a cohort of women employed in poultry processing.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · January 2008 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: We evaluated musculoskeletal problems among women employed in poultry processing in rural northeastern North Carolina. Poultry processing is the largest single employer of women in this economically depressed region with a black majority popula ... Full text Link to item Cite

Race, wealth, and solid waste facilities in North Carolina.

Journal Article Environ Health Perspect · September 2007 BACKGROUND: Concern has been expressed in North Carolina that solid waste facilities may be disproportionately located in poor communities and in communities of color, that this represents an environmental injustice, and that solid waste facilities negativ ... Full text Link to item Cite

Are we failing vulnerable workers? The case of black women in poultry processing in rural north Carolina

Journal Article New Solutions · August 1, 2007 © 2007, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc. In 1989, North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors cited two poultry processing plants in northeastern North Carolina for serious repetitive motion problems. In 1990, investigators f ... Cite

Musculoskeletal symptoms among poultry processing workers and a community comparison group: Black women in low-wage jobs in the rural South.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · May 2007 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Poultry processing is characterized by rapid line speed and extreme division of labor. Morbidity associated with this work has been reported by scientists, journalists and workers in this fast growing industry. METHODS: Cross-sectional data fro ... Full text Link to item Cite

Nail-gun injuries treated in emergency departments--United States, 2001-2005.

Journal Article MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep · April 13, 2007 Speed, ease of use, and ready availability have made pneumatic nail guns a common tool used in work settings such as residential construction and wood-product fabrication. In addition, the tools are now readily available to consumers, extending to the publ ... Link to item Cite

Are we failing vulnerable workers? The case of black women in poultry processing in rural North Carolina.

Journal Article New Solut · 2007 Featured Publication In 1989, North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors cited two poultry processing plants in northeastern North Carolina for serious repetitive motion problems. In 1990, investigators from the National Institute for Occupa ... Full text Link to item Cite

Depressive symptoms among working women in rural North Carolina: a comparison of women in poultry processing and other low-wage jobs.

Journal Article Int J Law Psychiatry · 2007 We report on the prevalence of self-reported depressive symptoms and associated factors among women employed in a poultry processing plant and a community comparison group of other employed women in northeastern North Carolina in the southern United States ... Full text Link to item Cite

Work hazards and workplace safety violations experienced by adolescent construction workers.

Journal Article Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med · July 2006 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To describe the working conditions of adolescents employed in construction in North Carolina, documenting hazards, safety practices, and prohibited activities. DESIGN: A cross-sectional telephone survey. SETTING: North Carolina. PARTICIPANTS: Ad ... Full text Link to item Cite

Nail gun injuries in apprentice carpenters: risk factors and control measures.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · July 2006 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Nail guns increase residential construction productivity but their use is associated with risk of injury. METHODS: Active surveillance data from 772 apprentice carpenters were used to document the injury risk associated with the use of nail gun ... Full text Link to item Cite

Injuries from slips and trips in construction.

Journal Article Appl Ergon · May 2006 Featured Publication Construction injuries preceded by a slip or trip were documented using data from the building of the Denver International Airport (Denver, Colorado, USA), the largest construction project in the world at the time. Slips and trips occurred at a rate of 5/20 ... Full text Link to item Cite

A conceptual model of work and health disparities in the United States.

Journal Article Int J Health Serv · 2006 Featured Publication Recent research in medicine and public health highlights differences in health related to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender. These inequalities, often labeled "disparities," are pervasive and pertain to the major causes of morbidity, mortal ... Full text Link to item Cite

Refining the focus of construction injury surveillance.

Journal Article Med Lav · 2006 We conducted two studies of construction injury occurring at Denver International Airport (DL4), whose construction required 31 million work hours. Initially we conducted a retrospective cohort study that allowed estimation of injury and workers' compensat ... Link to item Cite

Exploration of work and health disparities among black women employed in poultry processing in the rural south.

Journal Article Environ Health Perspect · December 2005 Featured Publication We describe an ongoing collaboration that developed as academic investigators responded to a specific request from community members to document health effects on black women of employment in poultry-processing plants in rural North Carolina. Primary outco ... Full text Link to item Cite

Methods for using narrative text from injury reports to identify factors contributing to construction injury.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · November 2005 BACKGROUND: Several methods exist for classifying injuries from written text, thereby identifying possible points of intervention. We describe an innovative method for such classification. METHODS: Using Haddon's matrix as a framework, two independent revi ... Full text Link to item Cite

Factors contributing to construction injury at Denver International Airport.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · January 2005 BACKGROUND: Detailed information about factors contributing to construction injury is important to support design of safety programs directed at particular risks. METHODS: We linked over 4,000 injury reports, including text describing injury events, with a ... Full text Link to item Cite

Analysis of text from injury reports improves understanding of construction falls.

Journal Article J Occup Environ Med · November 2004 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: We combined payroll data, coded workers' compensation (WC) data, and text descriptions of injuries from the construction of Denver International Airport to create a more comprehensive picture of falls from height (FFH) than is typically availabl ... Full text Link to item Cite

Musculoskeletal symptoms among commercial fishers in North Carolina.

Journal Article Appl Ergon · September 2004 Featured Publication Musculoskeletal symptoms were reported by 215 fishermen followed at 6-month intervals over 18 months. Exposure information was collected through field observation and in-depth ethnographic interviews allowing potential ergonomic stressors to be identified ... Full text Link to item Cite

Work related injuries in small scale commercial fishing.

Journal Article Inj Prev · August 2004 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology of work related injury in a group of small scale, independent commercial fishers. DESIGN: Cross sectional survey (baseline instrument of a prospective cohort study). SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Commercial fishers in easter ... Full text Link to item Cite

Use of qualitative methods to map job tasks and exposures to occupational hazards for commercial fishermen.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · July 2004 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Understanding job tasks and estimating occupational exposures is difficult for self-employed or autonomous workers, who tend to be dispersed, with no fixed workplace, employment records, or historical exposure measurements. METHODS: We used eth ... Full text Link to item Cite

An integrated comprehensive occupational surveillance system for health care workers.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · June 2004 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Workers in the health care industry may be exposed to a variety of work-related stressors including infectious, chemical, and physical agents; ergonomic hazards; psychological hazards; and workplace violence. Many of these hazards lack surveill ... Full text Link to item Cite

Falls in residential carpentry and drywall installation: findings from active injury surveillance with union carpenters.

Journal Article J Occup Environ Med · August 2003 Featured Publication Active injury surveillance was conducted with a large, unionized workforce of residential and drywall carpenters over a 3-year period. Injured carpenters were interviewed by trained carpenter investigators and sites were visited where falls occurred. Quali ... Full text Link to item Cite

Falls among union carpenters.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · August 2003 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Falls are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the construction trades. METHODS: We identified a cohort of 16,215 active union carpenters, hours worked, and their workers' compensation claims for a 10-year period. The data on this well ... Full text Link to item Cite

Direct costs and patterns of injuries among residential carpenters, 1995-2000.

Journal Article J Occup Environ Med · August 2003 Featured Publication Workers' compensation records for residential contractors were combined with hours worked provided by the union to examine injury rates and costs among union carpenters between 1995 and 2000. Brief text descriptions were reviewed to describe more costly in ... Full text Link to item Cite

Work-related falls among union carpenters in Washington State before and after the Vertical Fall Arrest Standard.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · August 2003 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Washington State enacted a change in their fall standard for the construction industry in 1991, preceding the Safety Standard for Fall Protection in the Construction Industry promulgated by Federal OSHA in 1994. METHODS: We evaluated changes in ... Full text Link to item Cite

Work-related injuries in residential and drywall carpentry.

Journal Article Appl Occup Environ Hyg · June 2003 Featured Publication Findings are reported on the first two years of an active injury surveillance project designed to test the utility of active injury investigations in identifying causes of injury among a large cohort of carpenters who did residential building and drywall i ... Full text Link to item Cite

Ergonomic interventions for the reduction of low back stress in framing carpenters in the home building industry

Journal Article International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics · June 1, 2003 Framing carpenters in the residential sector of the construction industry have exposure to many of the documented risk factors for low back disorders. On-site exposure data were collected from a sample of residential framing carpentry subcontractors and th ... Full text Cite

The North Country on the Job Network: a unique role for occupational health nurses in a community coalition.

Journal Article AAOHN J · May 2003 Featured Publication 1. Through a community based program, nurses were hired by a rural medical center to facilitate care for injured workers in the community. This placed the nurses outside the industrial and insurance arenas. 2. Rapid access to care and expedited return to w ... Link to item Cite

Nail gun injuries among construction workers.

Journal Article Appl Occup Environ Hyg · May 2003 Pneumatic nail guns greatly increase worker productivity and are extensively used in wood frame building construction, with especially high use in residential construction. One surveillance report of nail gun injuries in Washington State has been published ... Full text Link to item Cite

Health care utilization of families of carpenters with alcohol or substance abuse-related diagnoses.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · April 2003 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Patterns of health care utilization of families of carpenters with and without alcohol and/or substance abuse related diagnoses (ASRD) were compared. METHODS: Utilization data for families of 13,657 carpenters for a 10 year period were analyzed ... Full text Link to item Cite

Nail gun injuries in residential carpentry: lessons from active injury surveillance.

Journal Article Inj Prev · March 2003 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To describe circumstances surrounding injuries involving nail guns among carpenters, calculate injury rates, identify high risk groups and preventive measures. METHODS: and setting: Active injury surveillance was used to identify causes of injur ... Full text Link to item Cite

Health care utilization of carpenters with substance abuse-related diagnoses.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · February 2003 Featured Publication BACKGROUND: Persons in the construction trades in the US have high rates of alcohol and substance abuse. We had the unique opportunity to evaluate health care utilization through private insurance and workers' compensation for a group of carpenters at high ... Full text Link to item Cite

Evaluation of the North Country on the Job Network: a model of facilitated care for injured workers in rural upstate New York.

Journal Article J Occup Environ Med · March 2002 Featured Publication We describe the evaluation of a community-based program designed to facilitate access to care and return to work for injured workers in a rural, medically underserved area in upstate New York. Providers are recruited to provide easily accessible care and a ... Full text Link to item Cite

Clinical findings for residents near a polyurethane foam manufacturing plant.

Journal Article Arch Environ Health · 2002 Featured Publication Clinical findings for 38 community residents who complained of symptoms they attributed to exposure to air emissions from nearby fiber processing and polyurethane foam manufacturing facilities are reported. Common complaints included headache, mucosal irri ... Full text Link to item Cite

Injuries among teens employed in the homebuilding industry in North Carolina.

Journal Article Inj Prev · September 2001 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: To describe injuries of teens employed in the residential construction industry and to assess whether their injury experiences are significantly different from those of adults in this high risk industry. METHODS AND SETTING: North Carolina homeb ... Full text Link to item Cite

The role of epidemiological studies in ergonomics research

Journal Article Proceedings of the XIVth Triennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association and 44th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Association, 'Ergonomics for the New Millennium' · December 1, 2000 The role of epidemiology studies in ergonomics research was discussed. Epidemiology is a set of established and developing methodologies approaches for understanding injury and illness causation and prevention in human populations. It was demonstrated that ... Cite

Work-related injuries in drywall installation.

Journal Article Appl Occup Environ Hyg · October 2000 Featured Publication Administrative data sources were used to describe the work-related injuries of drywall carpenters, to calculate rates of occurrence, and to explore high risk sub-groups. Health insurance eligibility files were used to identify a cohort of active union carp ... Full text Link to item Cite

Deaths from external causes of injury among construction workers in North Carolina, 1988-1994.

Journal Article Appl Occup Environ Hyg · July 2000 Featured Publication Records from the Office of the North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner were used to describe 3955 deaths, both on and off the job, between 1988 and 1994 from external causes of injury (E-codes) among individuals whose usual occupation was in the construction ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effectiveness of interventions to prevent work-related eye injuries.

Journal Article Am J Prev Med · May 2000 Featured Publication OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review was to describe the effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent work-related eye injuries in construction, manufacturing, and agricultural industries. Two types of interventions were of interest: (1) effective ... Full text Link to item Cite

Work-related eye injuries among union carpenters.

Journal Article Appl Occup Environ Hyg · October 1999 Featured Publication Union administrative records were combined with workers' compensation data to identify a cohort of 12,958 active union carpenters, their person-time at risk, and their documented work-related eye injuries between 1989 and 1995 in the state of Washington. T ... Full text Link to item Cite

Workers' compensation experience of North Carolina residential construction workers, 1986-1994.

Journal Article Appl Occup Environ Hyg · February 1999 A total of 31,113 workers' compensation claims among 7,400 North Carolina Homebuilders Association (NCHA) members and their subcontractors for the period 1986-1994 were analyzed to calculate workers' compensation claim incidence density rates. For the 7 ye ... Full text Link to item Cite

Mortality among North Carolina construction workers, 1988-1994.

Journal Article Appl Occup Environ Hyg · January 1999 This study evaluated proportionate mortality patterns among all male construction workers in North Carolina who resided and died in North Carolina during the period 1988-1994. Proportionate Mortality Ratios (PMRs) and Proportionate Cancer Mortality Ratios ... Full text Link to item Cite

Proportionate mortality among union members employed at three Texas refineries.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · April 1998 The cause-specific mortality (1940-1993) of 2,985 male workers employed in three oil refineries was examined using a proportionate mortality study design. Separate analyses were undertaken by race, refinery, employment status (active and retired), and time ... Full text Link to item Cite

Respiratory diseases among union carpenters: cohort and case-control analyses.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · February 1998 Lung diseases, defined by ICD-9 diagnoses on medical insurance claims, were studied through the combined use of administrative records, private health insurance, and workers' compensation claims for a cohort of 10,938 active union carpenters between 1989 a ... Full text Link to item Cite

Surveillance of work-related musculoskeletal injuries among union carpenters.

Journal Article Am J Ind Med · December 1997 Combined data sources, including union administrative records and workers' compensation claims, were used to construct event histories for a dynamic cohort of union carpenters from Washington State during the period 1989-1992. Person-time at risk and the e ... Full text Link to item Cite

To the editor

Journal Article Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene · January 1, 1997 Cite

Workers’ compensation claims of union carpenters 1989-1992: Washington state

Journal Article Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene · January 1, 1996 Despite reports of high injury rates through the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), litde epidemiologic literature is available on work- related illness and injury among the construction trades, particularly among carpenters. By combining administrative dat ... Full text Cite

Construction: Counting illness and injury in construction

Journal Article Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene · January 1, 1995 Full text Cite

Results of surgical treatment of painful adult scoliosis.

Journal Article Spine (Phila Pa 1976) · July 15, 1994 STUDY DESIGN: In a consecutive clinical series, using before and after treatment measures, outcome was evaluated in adults with pain and scoliosis who underwent spinal fusion. OBJECTIVE: This outcome study tested the hypothesis that adult scoliosis patient ... Full text Link to item Cite

Diagnostic findings in painful adult scoliosis.

Journal Article Spine (Phila Pa 1976) · May 1992 The purpose of this study was to document the diagnostic findings in a group of adult patients presenting with both scoliosis and pain. Fifty-five adults were evaluated by medical history, physical examination, radiography, myelography followed by computed ... Full text Link to item Cite

Results of lumbosacral fusion for degenerative disc disease with and without instrumentation. Two- to five-year follow-up.

Journal Article Spine (Phila Pa 1976) · March 1992 Functional and surgical outcomes are reported in two consecutive groups of patients who underwent one- and two-level lumbosacral fusion. The first group underwent standard posterolateral lumbosacral fusion, and the second group underwent lumbosacral fusion ... Full text Link to item Cite

Spinal bone density following spinal fusion.

Journal Article Spine (Phila Pa 1976) · April 1989 Spinal bone densities were assessed in 25 patients following lumbar fusion and bracing, in an attempt to study bone remodeling by noninvasive methods. Dual-photon densitometry was used to study specific areas of autologous bone grafts and adjacent vertebra ... Full text Link to item Cite

Degenerative adult onset scoliosis.

Journal Article Spine (Phila Pa 1976) · March 1988 There are people who have no history of scoliosis who develop spinal deformity of a progressive nature as adults, associated with severe degenerative disc disease. The clinical syndrome associated with this deformity is not well documented. In an attempt t ... Full text Link to item Cite

The relative value of lumbar roentgenograms, metrizamide myelography, and discography in the assessment of patients with chronic low-back syndrome.

Journal Article Spine (Phila Pa 1976) · April 1987 This prospective study evaluated the relative value of lumbar roentgenograms, metrizamide myelography, and discography in identifying structural sources for chronic low-back syndrome. One hundred and eight patients with chronic low-back syndrome were evalu ... Full text Link to item Cite

Lymphocyte subsets in Chediak-Higashi patients.

Journal Article Immunol Lett · February 1983 Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets were studied in 6 Chediak-Higashi patients and 12 family members. The lymphocyte subsets were characterized by monoclonal antibody reagents and fluorescence flow-cytometry. An increase in OKT8 (suppressor/cytotoxic) and ... Full text Link to item Cite