PM2.5 Is Insufficient to Explain Personal PAH Exposure.

To understand how chemical exposure can impact health, researchers need tools that capture the complexities of personal chemical exposure. In practice, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air quality index (AQI) data from outdoor stationary monitors and Hazard Mapping System (HMS) smoke density data from satellites are often used as proxies for personal chemical exposure, but do not capture total chemical exposure. Silicone wristbands can quantify more individualized exposure data than stationary air monitors or smoke satellites. However, it is not understood how these proxy measurements compare to chemical data measured from wristbands. In this study, participants wore daily wristbands, carried a phone that recorded locations, and answered daily questionnaires for a 7-day period in multiple seasons. We gathered publicly available daily PM2.5 AQI data and HMS data. We analyzed wristbands for 94 organic chemicals, including 53 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Wristband chemical detections and concentrations, behavioral variables (e.g., time spent indoors), and environmental conditions (e.g., PM2.5 AQI) significantly differed between seasons. Machine learning models were fit to predict personal chemical exposure using PM2.5 AQI only, HMS only, and a multivariate feature set including PM2.5 AQI, HMS, and other environmental and behavioral information. On average, the multivariate models increased predictive accuracy by approximately 70% compared to either the AQI model or the HMS model for all chemicals modeled. This study provides evidence that PM2.5 AQI data alone or HMS data alone is insufficient to explain personal chemical exposures. Our results identify additional key predictors of personal chemical exposure.

Predicting personal PAH exposure using high dimensional questionnaire and wristband data.

BACKGROUND: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of pervasive environmental pollutants with a variety of known health effects. While significant work has been completed to estimate personal exposure to PAHs, less has been done to identify sources of these exposures. Comprehensive characterization of reported sources of personal PAH exposure is a critical step to more easily identify individuals at risk of high levels of exposure and for developing targeted interventions based on source of exposure. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we leverage data from a New York (NY)-based birth cohort to identify personal characteristics or behaviors associated with personal PAH exposure and develop models for the prediction of PAH exposure. METHODS: We quantified 61 PAHs measured using silicone wristband samplers in association with 75 questionnaire variables from 177 pregnant individuals. We evaluated univariate associations between each compound and questionnaire variable, conducted regression tree analysis for each PAH compound and completed a principal component analysis of for each participant's entire PAH exposure profile to determine the predictors of PAH levels. RESULTS: Regression tree analyses of individual compounds and exposure mixture identified income, time spent outdoors, maternal age, country of birth, transportation type, and season as the variables most frequently predictive of exposure.

Relationship of personal, situational, and environmental factors to injury experience in commercial fishing.

INTRODUCTION: Commercial fishing work involves a variety of activities and is hazardous. While much is understood to mitigate fatalities in this industry, research must further explore nonfatal injury characteristics, factors related to injury, and potential injury prevention strategies. This paper determines if fishing experience is associated with injury risk and explores common work activities associated with injury. METHOD: Key informant interviews and a survey of fishermen were conducted to refine work activity codes and collect injury experiences. Independent sample t-tests compared the means of the years fishing by injury incident for all crab fishermen then stratified by position. Descriptive statistics explored the nature of injury in relation to work activity. RESULTS: The level of experience was significantly lower for injured fishermen compared to fishermen who reported no injuries, but when stratified by position at the time of the injury, the association of injury to experience was only significant for owners. This stratified result demonstrates that the work activity, rather than experience, drives the apparent relationship of experience to injury. Being tired (24%) and weather (26%) were indicated as contributing factors at the time of injury. CONCLUSION: Modifying the work environment to better control hazards would benefit all fishermen, regardless of their experience, age, or position. Further work into effective interventions that fishermen would adopt is needed to reduce injury risk. Any formal or informal training of new fishermen should focus on the most hazardous activities, but more experienced fishermen would also benefit. Additionally, effective training or interventions for fatigue management, and decision support tools for weather- and navigation-related decisions would further reduce risk of at sea injuries. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Injury prevention training, for all fishermen, regardless of their position and years of experience, should cover the most hazardous tasks, fatigue risk management strategies, and weather decisions.

Adjusting for Berkson error in exposure in ordinary and conditional logistic regression and in Poisson regression.

BACKGROUND: INTEROCC is a seven-country cohort study of occupational exposures and brain cancer risk, including occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF). In the absence of data on individual exposures, a Job Exposure Matrix (JEM) may be used to construct likely exposure scenarios in occupational settings. This tool was constructed using statistical summaries of exposure to EMF for various occupational categories for a comparable group of workers. METHODS: In this study, we use the Canadian data from INTEROCC to determine the best EMF exposure surrogate/estimate from three appropriately chosen surrogates from the JEM, along with a fourth surrogate based on Berkson error adjustments obtained via numerical approximation of the likelihood function. In this article, we examine the case in which exposures are gamma-distributed for each occupation in the JEM, as an alternative to the log-normal exposure distribution considered in a previous study conducted by our research team. We also study using those surrogates and the Berkson error adjustment in Poisson regression and conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: Simulations show that the introduced methods of Berkson error adjustment for non-stratified analyses provide accurate estimates of the risk of developing tumors in case of gamma exposure model. Alternatively, and under some technical assumptions, the arithmetic mean is the best surrogate when a gamma-distribution is used as an exposure model. Simulations also show that none of the present methods could provide an accurate estimate of the risk in case of stratified analyses. CONCLUSION: While our previous study found the geometric mean to be the best exposure surrogate, the present study suggests that the best surrogate is dependent on the exposure model; the arithmetic means in case of gamma-exposure model and the geometric means in case of log-normal exposure model. However, we could present a better method of Berkson error adjustment for each of the two exposure models. Our results provide useful guidance on the application of JEMs for occupational exposure assessments, with adjustment for Berkson error.

Commercial Fishing Fatalities and Injuries Described by Linked Vessel Incidents.

OBJECTIVES: The Risk Information System for Commercial Fishing (RISC Fishing) merged information on fishermen and vessel incident types from various databases. This descriptive study examined linked fisherman injury records (fatal and nonfatal) and vessel incident records in Oregon and Washington from 2000 to 2018 in the RISC Fishing database. The circumstances of incidents and any association with fishermen outcomes were explored to identify injury prevention opportunities. METHODS: The statistical analyses included a descriptive study of incidents related to the injury characteristics and frequency of outcomes by incident type. Further analyses included contingency tables and Pearson Chi-Square tests for selected variables to determine if there were associations between vessel incident outcomes (fatality, nonfatal injury, no injury). RESULTS: A total of 375 reported incidents with 93 cases of fatalities, 239 nonfatal injuries, and over 6,575 fishermen with no injury were described. Of fatalities, 90% were due to drowning, with only 2% of victims reported donning survival equipment. Deckhands experienced fatal and nonfatal injuries most frequently. The most common factors associated with nonfatal injuries included contact with objects (event), walking on vessel and hauling gear (work activities), and fractures and open wounds (nature). The most common final event leading to a vessel disaster with no injury being reported was sinking (76%). Distributions between the incident outcomes (fatality, nonfatal injury, and no injury) differed by vessel activity/type, fishery/gear, and event leading to the incident. CONCLUSION: Linked information of fishermen injury outcomes and vessel incident information showed that events and settings that involve fatalities are qualitatively different from incidents resulting in only nonfatal injuries or uninjured survivors. Vessel-level approaches for mitigating fatalities, such as ensuring vessel stability, improving navigation/operation decisions, and spotlighting survival equipment policies/rescue priorities could have a significant impact. Work task-specific prevention strategies for nonfatal injuries related to the larger vessels (catcher/processors and processors) and smaller vessels (with pot/trap gears) are paramount. The use of linked information provided in reports can provide a fuller incident picture to advance efforts to improve the working conditions of commercial fishermen.

Prerequisite for Imputing Non-detects among Airborne Samples in OSHA's IMIS Databank: Prediction of Sample's Volume.

INTRODUCTION: The US Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) contains workplace measurements collected by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors. Its use for research is limited by the lack of record of a value for the limit of detection (LOD) associated with non-detected measurements, which should be used to set censoring point in statistical analysis. We aimed to remedy this by developing a predictive model of the volume of air sampled (V) for the non-detected results of airborne measurements, to then estimate the LOD using the instrument detection limit (IDL), as IDL/V. METHODS: We obtained the Chemical Exposure Health Data from OSHA's central laboratory in Salt Lake City that partially overlaps IMIS and contains information on V. We used classification and regression trees (CART) to develop a predictive model of V for all measurements where the two datasets overlapped. The analysis was restricted to 69 chemical agents with at least 100 non-detected measurements, and calculated sampling air flow rates consistent with workplace measurement practices; undefined types of inspections were excluded, leaving 412,201/413,515 records. CART models were fitted on randomly selected 70% of the data using 10-fold cross-validation and validated on the remaining data. A separate CART model was fitted to styrene data. RESULTS: Sampled air volume had a right-skewed distribution with a mean of 357 l, a median (M) of 318, and ranged from 0.040 to 1868 l. There were 173,131 measurements described as non-detects (42% of the data). For the non-detects, the V tended to be greater (M = 378 l) than measurements characterized as either 'short-term' (M = 218 l) or 'long-term' (M = 297 l). The CART models were complex and not easy to interpret, but substance, industry, and year were among the top three most important classifiers. They predicted V well overall (Pearson correlation (r) = 0.73, P < 0.0001; Lin's concordance correlation (rc) = 0.69) and among records captured as non-detects in IMIS (r = 0.66, P < 0.0001l; rc = 0.60). For styrene, CART built on measurements for all agents predicted V among 569 non-detects poorly (r = 0.15; rc = 0.04), but styrene-specific CART predicted it well (r = 0.87, P < 0.0001; rc = 0.86). DISCUSSION: Among the limitations of our work is the fact that samples may have been collected on different workers and processes within each inspection, each with its own V. Furthermore, we lack measurement-level predictors because classifiers were captured at the inspection level. We did not study all substances that may be of interest and did not use the information that substances measured on the same sampling media should have the same V. We must note that CART models tend to over-fit data and their predictions depend on the selected data, as illustrated by contrasting predictions created using all data vs. limited to styrene. CONCLUSIONS: We developed predictive models of sampled air volume that should enable the calculation of LOD for non-detects in IMIS. Our predictions may guide future work on handling non-detects in IMIS, although it is advisable to develop separate predictive models for each substance, industry, and year of interest, while also considering other factors, such as whether the measurement evaluated long-term or short-term exposure.

Utilizing Haddon matrix to assess nonfatal commercial fishing injury factors in Oregon and Washington.

BACKGROUND: Commercial fishing is a precarious industry with high fatal and nonfatal injury rates. The Risk Information System of Commercial [RISC] Fishing project at Oregon State University has been tracking both fatal and nonfatal injuries among Oregon and Washington commercial fishermen. We examined the utility of the RISC dataset variables in highlighting injury factors and prevention opportunities. METHOD: We identified 245 nonfatal commercial fishing injuries in Oregon and Washington (2000-2018) and assessed the top three injury events (contact with objects or equipment, transportation incidents, and slips/trips/falls) using a cross-sectional design. We generated a Haddon matrix for each event type and populated the matrices with injury-associated factors following our a-priori matrix. RESULTS: We observed 108 nonfatal injuries due to contact with objects. Contact injuries occurred during fishing (40%) with fishing gears (40%), often while hauling the fishing gear (22%). Common injury mechanisms included getting caught in running equipment or machinery (19%) or compressed by shifting objects or equipment (18%). Of the 58 transportation injuries most occurred in catchers (93%) and smaller vessels (1 to 3 crew) (55%). Vessel casualties were common as several vessels struck rocks/bottom (29%) or experienced fire and explosion (19%). The crew was abandoned to water (38%), often due to no raft or raft malfunctions (19%). Slip/trip/fall injuries (n = 43) typically happened during onboard traffic (49%). Such events were largely experienced by the catcher-processors (44%) including large vessels with > 100 crew (28%). CONCLUSION: The Haddon matrix demonstrated the injury-event timeline and helped to identify potential injury-associated factors. Our injury-specific risk matrices will let commercial fishing stakeholders determine priorities and work with the experts on prevention efforts.

A fishermen-developed intervention reduced musculoskeletal load associated with commercial Dungeness crab harvesting.

This study characterized physical risk factors associated with injuries during a Dungeness crab harvesting task and evaluated the efficacy of a fishermen-developed ergonomic control (banger bar) in mitigating physical risk factors, including biomechanical loads in the low back, shoulders, and upper extremities, and postural instability. In a repeated-measures laboratory study, 25 healthy male participants performed manual crab harvesting tasks in five conditions: without any banger bar (control) and with 4 bars of differing heights or designs. The results showed that the ergonomic control reduced trunk and shoulder angles, L5/S1, and shoulder moments; muscle activities in low back, shoulders, and upper extremities; perceived exertion ratings; and postural sway measures. Moreover, these measures were lowest when the bar height was at 60 cm, indicating that the banger bar can reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries and postural instability, and that bar height is an important factor affecting these injury risk measures.

Occupational Health and Safety in Tanzanian Aquaculture - Emerging Issues.

OBJECTIVES: The Tanzanian aquaculture industry represents great potential for food production and jobs; however, the potential occupational hazards and health risks associated with the sector have not been assessed. The aim of this study was to conduct a scoping analysis of the status of occupational health and safety based on current Tanzanian aquaculture activities, specifically in the fish farming and seaweed farming sectors. METHODS: Relevant information for the scoping analysis was obtained through aquaculture site visits and worker observation, interviews with key aquaculture stakeholders, and a review of literature relevant to the Tanzanian aquaculture sector published in scientific communications as well as grey literature. RESULTS: The study shows that the Tanzanian aquaculture industry is still in nascent stages, especially in relation to occupational health and safety despite some well-established isolated operations in the country. The industry is dominated by small-scale fish and seaweed farmers, the majority of whom work in the informal and semi-formal sectors. Tanzanian aquaculture workers are exposed to a number of occupational hazards and their associated health effects have been poorly characterized. Substantial gender disparities exist within the sector, which together with climate change, impact worker health and safety. CONCLUSION: Future research should focus on characterizing occupational exposures and documenting the associated health effects in Tanzanian aquaculture workers. Standardized methods should be used for this purpose to take into account gender disparities as well as the impact of climate change on occupational health and safety of these vulnerable workers.

Characterization of Musculoskeletal Injury Risk in Dungeness Crab Fishing.

OBJECTIVES: Commercial Dungeness crab fishermen's manual crab pot handling activities can be done in harsh outdoor working environments at sea and can pose well-known physical risk factors associated with musculoskeletal injury including forceful exertion, repetition and awkward posture. The nonfatal injury rate in this fishing fleet is 3.4 per 1,000 full-time equivalent workers. Two-thirds of self-reported injuries in the fleet were musculoskeletal sprains and strains. To date, no objective biomechanical assessment of musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) risk has been conducted due to the challenging work environment. METHODS: The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of collecting objective biomechanical assessments (i.e., posture and repetition) using inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors placed on the arms and torso of professional deckhands (n = 7) while at sea, harvesting Dungeness crab. Based on the IMU-measured posture data, fishermen's anthropometry, and crab pot weights, biomechanical loading of the low back and both shoulders was estimated. RESULTS: The IMU sensor data showed that commercial Dungeness crab fishing is highly repetitive and poses awkward postures in the shoulders and back. The estimated static low back compression, shear force, and flexion moment about the shoulders and low back (L5/S1) indicate potential injury risk associated with harvesting crab. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that objective biomechanical assessment using the IMU sensors is feasible in the commercial fishing environment.

The impact of wildfire smoke and temperature on traumatic worker injury claims, Oregon 2009-2018.

Background and Aims: As average temperatures rise and wildfire events increase in the United States, outdoor workers may be at an increased risk of injury. Recent research suggests that heat exposure increases outdoor workers' risk of traumatic injuries, but co-exposures of heat and wildfire smoke have not been evaluated. Methods: Oregon workers' compensation data from 2009 to 2018 were linked to satellite data by the date of injury to determine if acute heat (maximum Heat Index) and wildfire smoke (presence/absence) were associated with a traumatic injury. North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes were utilized to identify accepted, disabling injury claims from construction (NAICS 23) and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (NAICS 11). Claims from April to October were analyzed using negative binomial models to calculate incident rate ratios (IRR) by heat and wildfire exposure for All workers and specifically for Agricultural (Ag)/Construction workers. Results: During the study period, 91,895 accepted, traumatic injury claims were analyzed. All workers had an injury IRR of 1.04 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02-1.06) while Ag/Construction workers had an IRR of 1.11 (95% CI: 1.06-1.16) when wildfire smoke was present. When the maximum Heat Index was 75°F or greater, the IRR significantly increased as temperatures increased. When the maximum Heat Index was above 80-84°F, All workers had an IRR of 1.04 (95% CI: 1.01-1.06) while Ag/construction workers had an IRR of 1.14 (95% CI: 1.08-1.21) with risk increasing with increased temperatures. In joint models, heat remained associated with injury rates, but not wildfire smoke. No multiplicative interactions between exposures were observed. Conclusion: Increasing temperature was associated with increased rates of traumatic injury claims in Oregon that were more pronounced in Ag/Construction workers. Future work should focus on further understanding these associations and effective injury prevention strategies.

Evaluation of a technical advisory board for an occupational injury surveillance research project: A qualitative study.

Background and Aims: Advisory boards play a key role in guiding and informing research programs, including occupational health surveillance. It is important to evaluate the effectiveness of these advisory boards. This report details the organization of the Risk Information System for Commercial (RISC) Fishing Technical Advisory Board (TAB), the approach taken to evaluate the TAB, and the results of the evaluation. The RISC TAB was formed to provide advice and recommendations to the study team and informed the development and use of the safety surveillance system. Methods: The evaluation approach was informed by limited previous literature on advisory board assessments. This evaluation was conducted in Year 5 of the 6-year project. A review of the meeting notes, materials and correspondences, and study progress was conducted internally to document input from the board and associated actions. To obtain member perspectives, we surveyed the TAB and discussed it in a subsequent TAB meeting. Results: The RISC Fishing TAB members constitute a wide variety of commercial fishing safety stakeholders. The internal analysis identified the main project aspects and 14 of the proposed changes from the TAB that have either been implemented or are in progress in the project. Ten of the 15 TAB members responded indicating a positive experience on board organization and conduct. Conclusion: Evaluation of advisory boards is an essential part of a research program. A process is outlined in this report to inform future efforts to document measurable ways to inform projects based on advisory board feedback and reflections.

Impact of acute temperature and air pollution exposures on adult lung function: A panel study of asthmatics.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with respiratory conditions, such as asthma, are particularly susceptible to adverse health effects associated with higher levels of ambient air pollution and temperature. This study evaluates whether hourly levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and dry bulb globe temperature (DBGT) are associated with the lung function of adult participants with asthma. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Global positioning system (GPS) location, respiratory function (measured as forced expiratory volume at 1 second (FEV1)), and self-reports of asthma medication usage and symptoms were collected as part of the Exposure, Location, and Lung Function (ELF) study. Hourly ambient PM2.5 and DBGT exposures were estimated by integrating air quality and temperature public records with time-activity patterns using GPS coordinates for each participant (n = 35). The relationships between acute PM2.5, DBGT, rescue bronchodilator use, and lung function collected in one week periods and over two seasons (summer/winter) were analyzed by multivariate regression, using different exposure time frames. In separate models, increasing levels in PM2.5, but not DBGT, were associated with rescue bronchodilator use. Conversely DBGT, but not PM2.5, had a significant association with FEV1. When DBGT and PM2.5 exposures were placed in the same model, the strongest association between cumulative PM2.5 exposures and the use of rescue bronchodilator was identified at the 0-24 hours (OR = 1.030; 95% CI = 1.012-1.049; p-value = 0.001) and 0-48 hours (OR = 1.030; 95% CI = 1.013-1.057; p-value = 0.001) prior to lung function measure. Conversely, DBGT exposure at 0 hours (ß = 3.257; SE = 0.879; p-value>0.001) and 0-6 hours (ß = 2.885; SE = 0.903; p-value = 0.001) hours before a reading were associated with FEV1. No significant interactions between DBGT and PM2.5 were observed for rescue bronchodilator use or FEV1. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term increases in PM2.5 were associated with increased rescue bronchodilator use, while DBGT was associated with higher lung function (i.e. FEV1). Further studies are needed to continue to elucidate the mechanisms of acute exposure to PM2.5 and DBGT on lung function in asthmatics.

Evaluating predictive relationships between wristbands and urine for assessment of personal PAH exposure.

During events like the COVID-19 pandemic or a disaster, researchers may need to switch from collecting biological samples to personal exposure samplers that are easy and safe to transport and wear, such as silicone wristbands. Previous studies have demonstrated significant correlations between urine biomarker concentrations and chemical levels in wristbands. We build upon those studies and use a novel combination of descriptive statistics and supervised statistical learning to evaluate the relationship between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in silicone wristbands and hydroxy-PAH (OH-PAH) concentrations in urine. In New York City, 109 participants in a longitudinal birth cohort wore one wristband for 48 h and provided a spot urine sample at the end of the 48-hour period during their third trimester of pregnancy. We compared four PAHs with the corresponding seven OH-PAHs using descriptive statistics, a linear regression model, and a linear discriminant analysis model. Five of the seven PAH and OH-PAH pairs had significant correlations (Pearson's r = 0.35-0.64, p ≤ 0.003) and significant chi-square tests of independence for exposure categories (p ≤ 0.009). For these five comparisons, the observed PAH or OH-PAH concentration could predict the other concentration within a factor of 1.47 for 50-80% of the measurements (depending on the pair). Prediction accuracies for high exposure categories were at least 1.5 times higher compared to accuracies based on random chance. These results demonstrate that wristbands and urine provide similar PAH exposure assessment information, which is critical for environmental health researchers looking for the flexibility to switch between biological sample and wristband collection.

Understanding occupational safety and health surveillance: expert consensus on components, attributes and example measures for an evaluation framework.

BACKGROUND: Occupational safety and health (OSH) surveillance systems track work-related fatalities, injuries and illnesses as well as the presence of workplace hazards and exposures to inform prevention efforts. Periodic evaluation is critical to the improvement of these systems to meet the demand for more timely, complete, accurate and efficient data processing and analysis. Despite the existence of general guidance for public health surveillance evaluation, no tailored guidance exists for evaluating OSH surveillance systems to date. This study utilized the Delphi technique to collect consensus among experts in the United States on surveillance elements (components, attributes and measures) to inform the development of a tailored evaluation framework. METHODS: A Delphi study approach with three survey rounds invited an expert panel to rate and comment on potential OSH surveillance evaluation framework elements, resulting in an optimal list of elements through the panel's consensus. Additionally, experts completed a review of OSH surveillance systems they worked with and answered questions regarding the development of an evaluation framework. Descriptive statistics of the ratings were compiled for the Delphi process. Major themes from experts' comments were further identified using content analysis to inform contextual information underlying their choices. RESULTS: Fifty-four potential experts across the United States were contacted to participate in the Delphi study. Ten experts began the first survey round with eight then seven experts continuing in the subsequent rounds, respectively. A total of 64 surveillance components, 31 attributes, and 116 example measures were selected into the final list through panel consensus, with 134 (63.5%) reaching high consensus. Major themes regarding current OSH surveillance focused on resources and feasibility, data collection, flexibility, and the inter-relatedness among elements. CONCLUSIONS: A Delphi process identified tailored OSH surveillance elements and major themes regarding OSH surveillance. The identified elements can serve as a preliminary guide for evaluating OSH surveillance systems. A more detailed evaluation framework is under development to incorporate these elements into a standard yet flexible approach to OSH surveillance evaluation.

Health-Related Exposures and Conditions among US Fishermen.

Commercial fishing is a high-risk occupation, yet there is a lack of surveillance documenting health conditions, health behaviors, and health care coverage among US fishermen. We used publicly available data sources to identify exposures and health outcomes common among fishermen. We utilized the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-Worker Health Charts to estimate the prevalence of general exposures, psychosocial exposures, health behaviors, and health conditions from the national surveys National Health Interview Survey - Occupational Health Supplement (NHIS-OHS, 2015) and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) (2013-2015). We compared fishing workers with both agricultural workers and all-workers. Fishermen commonly reported general exposures, psychosocial exposures, non-standard work arrangements, frequent night shifts, and shift work. The prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome (33%) and severe low-back pain (27%) was also high. Smoking (45%) and second-hand smoke exposure (25%) were widespread, and 21% reported no health care coverage. National household surveys such as NHIS-OHS, and BRFSS can be utilized to describe the health status of fishermen. This workforce would benefit from increased access to health care and health promotion programs. More comprehensive evaluations of existing data can help to identify occupation-specific health challenges.

Application of data linkage techniques to Pacific Northwest commercial fishing injury and fatality data.

BACKGROUND: Commercial fishing consistently has among the highest workforce injury and fatality rates in the United States. Data related to commercial fishing incidents are routinely collected by multiple organizations which do not currently coordinate or automatically link data. Each data set has the potential to generate a more complete picture to inform prevention efforts. Our objective was to examine the utility of using statistical data linkage methods to link commercial fishing incident data when personally identifiable information is not available. METHODS: In this feasibility study, we identified true matches and discrepancies between de-identified data sets using the Python Record Linkage Toolkit. Four commercial fishing data sets from Oregon and Washington were linked: the Commercial Fishing Incident Database, the Vessel Casualty Database, the Nonfatal Injuries Database, and the Oregon Trauma Registry. The data sets each covered different date ranges within 2000-2017, containing 458, 524, 184, and 11 cases respectively. Several data linkage classifiers were evaluated. RESULTS: The Naïve-Bayes classifier returned the highest number of true matches between these small data sets. A total of 41 true matches and 8 close matches were identified, of which 29 were determined to be duplicates. In addition, linkage highlighted 4 records that were not commercial fishing cases from Oregon and Washington. The optimum match parameters were the date, state, vessel official number, and number of people on board. CONCLUSIONS: Statistical data linkage enables accurate, routine matching for small de-identified injury and fatality data sets such as those in commercial fishing. It provides information needed to improve the accuracy of existing data records. It also enables expanding and sharpening details of individual incidents in support of occupational safety research.

Assessing disabling and non-disabling injuries and illnesses using accepted workers compensation claims data to prioritize industries of high risk for Oregon young workers.

INTRODUCTION: Young workers are especially vulnerable to occupational injuries and illnesses. There is a continued need to investigate injury burden among young workers across demographics and industry to inform targeted interventions. Workers compensation (WC) claims are important for quantifying work-related injuries and illnesses, however published studies have focused on disabling claims. This study extended previous research on Oregon young workers by including the most recent WC claims data to identify patterns of injury and high risk industries. METHODS: We obtained all accepted disabling claims (N = 13,360) and a significant portion of non-disabling claims (N = 24,660) on workers aged 24 years and under from 2013 to 2018. Claim count, rate and cost were calculated by year, age, gender, industry, and injury type. A prevention index (PI) method was used to rank industries in order to inform prevention efforts. RESULTS: Average annual disabling and non-disabling claim rates were 111.6 and 401.3 per 10,000 young workers. Workers aged 19-21 (disabling: 119.0 per 10,000 and non-disabling: 429.3) and 22-24 years (115.7 and 396.4) and male workers (145.3 and 509.0) had higher claim rates than workers aged 14-18 (80.6 and 297.0) and female workers (79.8 and 282.9). The most frequent injury types were "struck by/against" (35.6%) and "work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs)" (19.5%). High risk industries included agriculture, construction, and manufacturing for both genders combined. For female young workers, the highest risk industry was healthcare. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the added value of non-disabling WC claims data. Using both disabling and non-disabling data and PI method, agriculture, construction, manufacturing and healthcare industries were identified as priority workplaces to prevent common and costly injuries among Oregon young workers. Practical Applications: While the industries identified are considered hazardous for all workers, findings in this study can guide targeted research and prevention efforts specific to young workers.

Efficacy of text messaging apprentices to reinforce ergonomics and safety voice training.

INTRODUCTION: Injuries and work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are common among masons. SAfety Voice for Ergonomics (SAVE) integrates training in ergonomic and safety problem-solving skills into masonry apprenticeship training. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of text messaging to reinforce SAVE program content. METHOD: SAVE effectiveness was evaluated at masonry apprenticeship training centers across the United States by comparing three experimental groups: (1) Ergonomics training, (2) Ergonomics and Safety Voice training, and a (3) Control. Apprentices received SAVE training with their standard instruction. To reinforce classroom training, refresher training was implemented by sending weekly text messages for six months. Half of the text messages required a response, which tested knowledge or assessed behavior, while the remaining reiterated knowledge. Apprentices (n = 119) received SAVE text messages. Response rates and percentage of correct responses were compared with chi-square tests and independent group t-tests. Multivariable logistic regression analysis predicted apprentice response with selected demographic and work experience variables. Finally, feedback on of the use of text messaging was obtained. RESULT: Of 119 participants, 61% (n = 72) responded to at least one text message. Logistic regression revealed that being a high school graduate and a brick and block mason significantly affected the odds of responding. Sixty-nine percent of apprentices agreed that text messages reinforced SAVE content. CONCLUSION: Even though there was no training center requirement to respond, the high response rate suggests that text messaging can effectively be used to reinforce ergonomics and safety voice training for both knowledge and behavior. Practical Application: The prevalent use of text messaging creates opportunities to reinforce health and safety training and engage workers, especially for populations that may be at various locations over time such as construction sites. Instructors and practitioners should consider the utility of text messaging for supporting their training and safety programs.