RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Falls from heights remain the most common cause of workplace fatalities among residential construction workers in the United States. METHODS: This paper examines patterns and trends of fall fatalities in U.S. residential construction between 2003 and 2010 by analyzing two large national datasets. RESULTS: Almost half of the fatalities in residential construction were from falls. In the residential roofing industry, 80% of fatalities were from falls. In addition, about one-third of fatal falls in residential construction were among self-employed workers. Workers who were older than 55 years, were Hispanic foreign-born, or employed in small establishments (1-10 employees) also had higher proportions of fatal falls in residential construction compared to those in nonresidential construction. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that fall safety within the residential construction industry lags behind commercial construction and industrial settings. Fall prevention in residential construction should be enhanced to better protect construction workers in this sector.
Assuntos
Acidentes por Quedas/mortalidade , Acidentes de Trabalho/mortalidade , Indústria da Construção , Emprego/estatística & dados numéricos , Hispânico ou Latino/estatística & dados numéricos , Habitação , Traumatismos Ocupacionais/mortalidade , Adolescente , Adulto , Distribuição por Idade , Idoso , Bases de Dados Factuais , Etnicidade/estatística & dados numéricos , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Empresa de Pequeno Porte/estatística & dados numéricos , Estados Unidos , Adulto JovemRESUMO
BACKGROUND: There is convincing evidence that occupational injury and illness rates, particularly those reported by employers in the BLS' Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), substantially underestimate the true magnitude of injury and illness in the construction industry. METHODS: Fifteen years of data from five large nationally representative data sources were analyzed, including SOII, CFOI, CBP, CPS, and MEPS. Regression trends and ratio analyses were conducted, and stratified by establishment size and Hispanic ethnicity. RESULTS: Small construction establishments were most likely to underreport injuries. The SOII data only captured 25% of severe injuries among Hispanic workers, and 60% among white workers in small construction establishments. CONCLUSIONS: Underreporting is pervasive in the construction industry for small establishments and Hispanic workers. Given that small establishments are predominant in the U.S. construction industry, they should be the focus of a larger effort to identify the true extent of construction-related injuries.