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Non‐reporting of work injuries and aspects of jobsite safety climate and behavioral‐based safety elements among carpenters in Washington state
Author(s) -
Lipscomb Hester J.,
Schoenfisch Ashley L.,
Cameron Wilfrid
Publication year - 2015
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.22425
Subject(s) - medicine , occupational safety and health , injury prevention , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , suicide prevention , safer , occupational injury , work (physics) , environmental health , family medicine , computer security , mechanical engineering , pathology , computer science , engineering
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. Prevalence of non‐reporting and fear of repercussions for reporting were compared across exposure to behavioral‐based safety elements and three domains of the Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ‐50). Results The majority (>75%) of the 1,155 participants felt they could report work‐related injuries to their supervisor without fear of retribution, and most felt that the majority of injuries on their jobsites got reported. However, nearly half indicated it was best not to report minor injuries, and felt pressures to use their private insurance for work injury care. The prevalence of non‐reporting and fear of reporting increased markedly with poorer measures of management safety justice (NOSACQ‐50). Conclusions Formal and informal policies and practices on jobsites likely influence injury reporting. Am. J. Ind. Med. 58:411–421, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.