Premium
The Pennsylvania certified safety committee program: An evaluation of participation and effects on work injury rates
Author(s) -
Liu Hangsheng,
Burns Rachel M.,
Schaefer Agnes G.,
Ruder Teague,
Nelson Christopher,
Haviland Amelia M.,
Gray Wayne B.,
Mendeloff John
Publication year - 2010
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.20861
Subject(s) - occupational safety and health , medicine , workers' compensation , propensity score matching , injury prevention , occupational injury , poison control , certification , work (physics) , occupational medicine , compensation (psychology) , environmental health , economics , surgery , psychology , mechanical engineering , management , pathology , psychoanalysis , engineering
Background Since 1994, Pennsylvania, like several other states, has provided a 5% discount on workers' compensation insurance premiums for firms with a certified joint labor management safety committee. This study explored the factors affecting program participation and evaluated the effect of this program on work injuries. Methods Using Pennsylvania unemployment insurance data (1996–2006), workers' compensation data (1998–2005), and the safety committee audit data (1999–2007), we conducted propensity score matching and regression analysis on the program's impact on injury rates. Results Larger firms, firms with higher injury rates, firms in high risk industries, and firms without labor unions were more likely to join the safety committee program and less likely to drop out of the program. The injury rates of participants did not decline more than the rates for non‐participants; however, rates at participant firms with good compliance dropped more than the rates at participant firms with poor compliance. Conclusions Firm size and prior injury rates are key predictors of program participation. Firms that complied with the requirement to train their safety committee members did experience reductions in injuries, but non‐compliance with that and other requirements was so widespread that no overall impact of the program could be detected. Am. J. Ind. Med. 53:780–791, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.