Are new workers at elevated risk for work injury? A systematic review

ObjectiveTo identify, appraise and synthesise studies that have examined the degree to which new workers are at an elevated risk of work-related acute injuries and musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries.MethodWe searched three relevant electronic databases for studies published between 1995 and early 2018....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Occupational and environmental medicine (London, England) England), 2019-09, Vol.76 (9), p.694-701
Main Authors: Breslin, Frederick Curtis, Dollack, Jocelyn, Mahood, Quenby, Maas, Esther T, Laberge, Marie, Smith, Peter M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Burns
Cumulative Trauma Disorders - epidemiology
Employment
Empowerment
Epidemiology
Female
health and safety
Health hazards
Health risks
Humans
Industrial safety
Injuries
injury
Injury prevention
Male
Males
Musculoskeletal Diseases - epidemiology
Occupational exposure
Occupational health
Occupational Injuries - epidemiology
Population
Prevention
Review
Risk
Risk Factors
Signs and symptoms
Studies
Systematic review
Tenure
Time Factors
Workers
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:ObjectiveTo identify, appraise and synthesise studies that have examined the degree to which new workers are at an elevated risk of work-related acute injuries and musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries.MethodWe searched three relevant electronic databases for studies published between 1995 and early 2018. Fifty-one studies using multivariate analyses met our relevance and quality appraisal criteria. These studies examined two different work outcomes: acute injuries (eg, cuts, burns and falls) and MSK injuries (eg, repetitive strain).ResultsIn four of six studies looking at acute work injuries, new workers were found to be at an elevated risk of injury (ie, moderate supportive evidence of new worker risk). In another six studies looking at MSK symptoms, injuries or disorders, evidence of an elevated risk among new workers was insufficient or limited.ConclusionsOur review has potential implications for the prevention of work injuries, providing policy-makers and workplace parties with supportive evidence about the importance of prevention efforts focused on new workers, such as developing workplace policies that emphasise hazard exposure reduction, hazard awareness, hazard protection and worker empowerment.
ISSN:1351-0711
1470-7926
DOI:10.1136/oemed-2018-105639