Effectiveness of participatory training in preventing accidental occupational injuries: a randomized-controlled trial in China

• Published in: Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health environment & health, 2017-05, Vol.43 (3), p.226-233
• Main Authors: Yu, Ignatius TS, Yu, Wenzhou, Li, Zhimin, Qiu, Hong, Wan, Sabrina, Xie, Shaohua, Wang, Xiaorong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: accident; Accidental injuries; accidental injury prevention; accidental occupational injury; China; Control groups; Ergonomics; Factories; Humans; Industrial training; Job training; Lost to follow up; machine safety; materials handling; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Occupational Health - education; Occupational health and safety; Occupational Injuries - prevention & control; occupational injury; participatory training; Physical trauma; prevention; Randomized controlled trials; randomized-controlled trial; rct; Surveys and Questionnaires; working environment; Workplace; workplace accident; workplace injury
• ISSN: 0355-3140; 1795-990X; 1795-990X
• DOI: 10.5271/sjweh.3617

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a participatory training program in preventing accidental occupational injuries in factories in Shenzhen, China. Methods We conducted a cluster randomized study with the worker as the unit of analysis, providing 918 workers from 30 factories participatory training. Two control groups received traditional didactic training, including 907 workers from the same 30 factories and 1654 workers in matched control factories. We used generalized estimating equations to compare the before/after person-based injury rate difference in the three groups and binary logistic regression to compare the re-injury rates. Results The person- and event-based incidence rates of accidental injury in the intervention group reduced from 89.3 to 52.1 per 1000 workers (P=0.002) and from 138.3 to 74.5 per 1000 person-years (P