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Use of employer administrative databases to identify systematic causes of injury in aluminum manufacturing
Author(s) -
Pollack Keshia M.,
Agnew Jacqueline,
Slade Martin D.,
Cantley Linda,
Taiwo Oyebode,
Vegso Sally,
Sircar Kanta,
Cullen Mark R.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.20493
Subject(s) - medicine , occupational injury , occupational safety and health , logistic regression , workforce , confounding , environmental health , occupational hygiene , database , injury prevention , population , human factors and ergonomics , occupational medicine , poison control , pathology , computer science , economics , economic growth
Background Employer administrative files are an underutilized source of data in epidemiologic studies of occupational injuries. Methods Personnel files, occupational health surveillance data, industrial hygiene data, and a real‐time incident and injury management system from a large multi‐site aluminum manufacturer were linked deterministically. An ecological‐level measure of physical job demand was also linked. This method successfully created a database containing over 100 variables for 9,101 hourly employees from eight geographically dispersed U.S. plants. Results Between 2002 and 2004, there were 3,563 traumatic injuries to 2,495 employees. The most common injuries were sprain/strains (32%), contusions (24%), and lacerations (14%). A multivariable logistic regression model revealed that physical job demand was the strongest predictor of injury risk, in a dose dependent fashion. Other strong predictors of injury included female gender, young age, short company tenure and short time on current job. Conclusions Employer administrative files are a useful source of data, as they permit the exploration of risk factors and potential confounders that are not included in many population‐based surveys. The ability to link employer administrative files with injury surveillance data is a valuable analysis strategy for comprehensively studying workplace injuries, identifying salient risk factors, and targeting workforce populations disproportionately affected. Am. J. Ind. Med. 50:676–686, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.