National Technical Reports Library

The National Technical Information Service acquires, indexes, abstracts, and archives the largest collection of U.S. government-sponsored technical reports in existence. The NTRL offers online, free and open access to these authenticated government technical reports. Technical reports and documents in its repository may be available online for free either from the issuing federal agency, the U.S. Government Publishing Office’s Federal Digital System website, or through search engines.

Details

Back Disorders Among Union Carpenters.

PB2011112725

Publication Date	2009
Personal Author	Lipscomb, H. J.; Dement, J. M.; Silverstein, B.; Kucera, K. L.; Cameron, W.
Page Count	130
Abstract	We conducted a study of back disorders among a well-defined cohort of construction carpenters. By combining sources of administrative data we had a unique picture of medical care for a large cohort of union carpenters through their workers' compensation and private health insurance coverage for a 15-year time period (1989-1998). Data for these analyses came from the Carpenters Trusts of Western Washington that allowed us to enumerate a cohort of union carpenters who had worked in Washington. The trust also provided us with the health care claims data for these individuals including the actual line items submitted for payment, charges, and associated ICD-9 codes submitted by the care providers. The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries provided records of work-related injuries for the cohort. Because Washington has a state run worker's compensation program we were also able to secure the line items for medical care for the associated claims as well including the provider-assigned ICD-9 codes. A number of outcomes were explored including risk of acute work-related back injury, work-related back injury from overexertion type activities, incident and recurrent work-related back injuries, and delayed return to work following injury. We also evaluated costs associated with work-related back injuries over time as well as health care utilization and associated costs covered through the workers' union provided health insurance coverage. With the exception of our analyses of delayed return to work, the analyses used a cohort approach. For analyses of work-related injuries and costs, time at risk was person hours of work as a union carpenter. For analyses of health care utilization and costs, time at risk was months of insurance eligibility. All cohort analyses were limited to 18,768 carpenters who worked at least 3 months of union hours in this 15-year period, had a month of union health insurance coverage, and worked at least a month after meeting the entry criteria. To evaluate risk factors for delayed return to work, a case-control analysis was conducted comparing odds of injured carpenters who returned to work within a month and those whose return was delayed at least 3 months. The latter requirement for the cohort analyses was not required for these analyses allowing 20,642 carpenters for study.
Keywords	Back injuries Construction industry Carpenters Washington(State) Labor unions Musculoskeletal system Occupational safety Work practices Injury prevention Medical research Union Carpenters Carpenters Trust of Western Washington
Source Agency	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Corporate Authors	Duke Univ. Medical Center, Durham, NC. Dept. of Community and Family Medicine.; Washington State Dept. of Labor & Industries, Olympia. Safety & Health; Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, MD.
Supplemental Notes	Prepared in cooperation with Washington State Dept. of Labor & Industries, Olympia. Safety & Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) Program. and Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, MD.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	201122

Back Disorders Among Union Carpenters.

Back Disorders Among Union Carpenters.
PB2011112725

Publication Date	2009
Personal Author	Lipscomb, H. J.; Dement, J. M.; Silverstein, B.; Kucera, K. L.; Cameron, W.
Page Count	130
Abstract	We conducted a study of back disorders among a well-defined cohort of construction carpenters. By combining sources of administrative data we had a unique picture of medical care for a large cohort of union carpenters through their workers' compensation and private health insurance coverage for a 15-year time period (1989-1998). Data for these analyses came from the Carpenters Trusts of Western Washington that allowed us to enumerate a cohort of union carpenters who had worked in Washington. The trust also provided us with the health care claims data for these individuals including the actual line items submitted for payment, charges, and associated ICD-9 codes submitted by the care providers. The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries provided records of work-related injuries for the cohort. Because Washington has a state run worker's compensation program we were also able to secure the line items for medical care for the associated claims as well including the provider-assigned ICD-9 codes. A number of outcomes were explored including risk of acute work-related back injury, work-related back injury from overexertion type activities, incident and recurrent work-related back injuries, and delayed return to work following injury. We also evaluated costs associated with work-related back injuries over time as well as health care utilization and associated costs covered through the workers' union provided health insurance coverage. With the exception of our analyses of delayed return to work, the analyses used a cohort approach. For analyses of work-related injuries and costs, time at risk was person hours of work as a union carpenter. For analyses of health care utilization and costs, time at risk was months of insurance eligibility. All cohort analyses were limited to 18,768 carpenters who worked at least 3 months of union hours in this 15-year period, had a month of union health insurance coverage, and worked at least a month after meeting the entry criteria. To evaluate risk factors for delayed return to work, a case-control analysis was conducted comparing odds of injured carpenters who returned to work within a month and those whose return was delayed at least 3 months. The latter requirement for the cohort analyses was not required for these analyses allowing 20,642 carpenters for study.
Keywords	Back injuries Construction industry Carpenters Washington(State) Labor unions Musculoskeletal system Occupational safety Work practices Injury prevention Medical research Union Carpenters Carpenters Trust of Western Washington
Source Agency	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Corporate Authors	Duke Univ. Medical Center, Durham, NC. Dept. of Community and Family Medicine.; Washington State Dept. of Labor & Industries, Olympia. Safety & Health; Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, MD.
Supplemental Notes	Prepared in cooperation with Washington State Dept. of Labor & Industries, Olympia. Safety & Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) Program. and Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, MD.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	201122