Although women are often characterized as having “safe” occupations, they are at risk of experiencing occupational musculoskeletal injuries. This cross-sectional study examined the health status, occupations, and job tasks of a random sample of working women (N = 123) to characterize their risk of occupational injury. The women had been employed, most full-time, in the 12 months prior to administration of the telephone survey. The women tended to cluster into two types of occupational exposures. Overall, the women rated their health as excellent. However, those with diagnosed musculoskeletal disorders had significantly worse scores on two scales of the Short Form Health Survey than those without musculoskeletal disorders. Women are exposed to occupational musculoskeletal stressors that increase their risk of experiencing musculoskeletal injuries.
References
1.
AittomäkiA.LahelmaE.RahkonenO.Leino-ArjasP.MartikainenP. (2006). The contribution of musculoskeletal disorders and physical workload to socioeconomic inequalities in health. European Journal of Public Health, 17(2), 145–150.
2.
AlcouffeJ.ManillierP.BrehierM.FabinC.FaupinF. (1999). Analysis by sex of low back pain among workers from small companies in the Paris area: Severity and occupational consequences. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 56(10), 696–701.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2003). Civilian labor force participation rates employment-population ratios, and unemployment rates by sex, age, race, and Hispanic origin, 2002. Retrieved April 30, 2003, from http://stats.bls.gov/opub/gp/pdf/gp02_24.pdf
5.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2004). Table 11: Employed persons by detailed occupation and sex, 2004 annual average. Retrieved August 18, 2006, from http://stats.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat23.pdf
6.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2006). Nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses requiring days away from work, 2005. Retrieved June 11, 2007, from www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/case/osnr0027.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1988). National Health Interview Survey: Occupational Health Addendum. Atlanta, GA: Author.
9.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1993). National Health Interview Survey. Atlanta, GA: Author.
10.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1999). Healthy people 2010: Occupational safety and health. Retrieved August 18, 2006, from www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hp2000/hp2k01-acc.pdf
11.
ColeD. C.IbrahimS.ShannonH. S. (2005). Predictors of work-related repetitive strain injuries in a population cohort. American Journal of Public Health, 95(7), 1233–1237.
12.
DavisL.WellmanH.PunnettL. (2001). Surveillance of work-related carpal tunnel syndrome in Massachusetts, 1992–1997: A report from the Massachusetts Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risks (SENSOR). American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 39(1), 58–71.
13.
DeyoR. A.MirzaS. K.MartinB. I. (2006). Back pain prevalence and visit rates: Estimates from U.S. national surveys, 2002. Spine, 31(23), 2724–2727.
14.
GuoH. R. (2002). Working hours spent on repeated activities and prevalence of back pain. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 59(10), 680–688.
15.
HooftmanW. E.van der BeekA. J.BongersP. M.van MechelenW. (2005). Gender differences in self-reported physical and psychosocial exposure in jobs with both female and male workers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 47(3), 244–252.
16.
LeinoT.TuomiK.PaakkulainenH.KlockarsM. (1999). Health reasons for leaving the profession as determined among Finnish hairdressers in 1980–1995. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 72(1), 56–59.
17.
LernerD.AmickB. C.RogersW. H.MalspeisS.BungayK.CynnD. (2001). The Work Limitations Questionnaire. Medical Care, 39(1), 72–85.
18.
LernerD.ReedJ. I.MassarottiE.WesterL. M.BurkeT. A. (2002). The Work Limitations Questionnaire's validity and reliability among patients with osteoarthritis. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 55(2), 197–208.
19.
MarrasW. S. (2000). Occupational low back disorder causation and control. Ergonomics, 43(7), 880–902.
20.
McDiarmidM.OliverM.RuserJ.GucerP. (2000). Male and female rate differences in carpal tunnel syndrome injuries: Personal attributes or job tasks?Environmental Research, 83(1), 23–32.
21.
MessingK. (1997). Women's occupational health: A critical review and discussion of current issues. Women and Health, 25(4), 39–68.
22.
MessingK. (2004). Physical exposure in work commonly done by women. Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, 29(5), 639–656.
23.
PunnettL.Prüss-ÜstünA.NelsonD. I.FingerhutM. A.LeighJ.TakS. (2005). Estimating the global burden of low back pain attributable to combined occupational exposures. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 48(6), 459–469.
24.
StellmanJ. M. (1999). Women workers: The social construction of a special population. Occupational Medicine, 14(3), 559–580.
25.
ThorbjörnssonC. B.AlfredssonL.FredrikssonK.MichélsenH.PunnettL.VangårdE. (2000). Physical and psychosocial factors related to low back pain during a 24-year period. Spine, 25(3), 369–375.
26.
WareJ. (1993). SF-36 health survey manual and interpretation guide. Boston: New England Medical Center.
27.
ZakariaD.RobertsonJ.MacDermidJ.HartfordK.KovalJ. (2002). Work-related cumulative trauma disorders of the upper extremity: Navigating the epidemiologic literature. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 42(3), 258–269.
