Physical working conditions as covered in European monitoring questionnaires
Abstract Background The prevalence of workers with demanding physical working conditions in the European work force remains high, and occupational physical exposures are considered important risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), a major burden for both workers and society. Exposures to p...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
BMC
2017-06-01
|
Series: | BMC Public Health |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-017-4465-7 |
id |
doaj-65121a1065e54c918837ab5b06122dd7 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-65121a1065e54c918837ab5b06122dd72020-11-25T00:44:40ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582017-06-011711910.1186/s12889-017-4465-7Physical working conditions as covered in European monitoring questionnairesTore Tynes0Cecilie Aagestad1Sannie Vester Thorsen2Lars Louis Andersen3Merja Perkio-Makela4Francisco Javier Pinilla García5Luz Galiana Blanco6Greet Vermeylen7Agnes Parent-Thirion8Wendela Hooftman9Irene Houtman10Falk Liebers11Hermann Burr12Maren Formazin13Statens arbeidsmiljøinstitutt (National Institute of Occupational Health)Statens arbeidsmiljøinstitutt (National Institute of Occupational Health)Det Nationale Forskningscenter for Arbejdsmiljø (National Research Center for the Working Environment)Det Nationale Forskningscenter for Arbejdsmiljø (National Research Center for the Working Environment)Työterveyslaitos (Finnish Institute of Occupational Health)Instituto Nacional de Seguridad e Higiene en el Trabajo (National Institute of Safety and Hygiene at Work)Instituto Nacional de Seguridad e Higiene en el Trabajo (National Institute of Safety and Hygiene at Work)European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound)European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound)TNOTNOBundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin (Federal Institute for Occupational Safety & Health), Department “Work & Health”Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin (Federal Institute for Occupational Safety & Health), Department “Work & Health”Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin (Federal Institute for Occupational Safety & Health), Department “Work & Health”Abstract Background The prevalence of workers with demanding physical working conditions in the European work force remains high, and occupational physical exposures are considered important risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), a major burden for both workers and society. Exposures to physical workloads are therefore part of the European nationwide surveys to monitor working conditions and health. An interesting question is to what extent the same domains, dimensions and items referring to the physical workloads are covered in the surveys. The purpose of this paper is to determine 1) which domains and dimensions of the physical workloads are monitored in surveys at the national level and the EU level and 2) the degree of European consensus among these surveys regarding coverage of individual domains and dimensions. Method Items on physical workloads used in one European wide/Spanish and five other European nationwide work environment surveys were classified into the domains and dimensions they cover, using a taxonomy agreed upon among all participating partners. Results The taxonomy reveals that there is a modest overlap between the domains covered in the surveys, but when considering dimensions, the results indicate a lower agreement. The phrasing of items and answering categories differs between the surveys. Among the domains, the three domains covered by all surveys are “lifting, holding & carrying of loads/pushing & pulling of loads”, “awkward body postures” and “vibrations”. The three domains covered less well, that is only by three surveys or less, are “physical work effort”, “working sitting”, and “mixed exposure”. Conclusions This is the fırst thorough overview to evaluate the coverage of domains and dimensions of self-reported physical workloads in a selection of European nationwide surveys. We hope the overview will provide input to the revisions and updates of the individual countries’ surveys in order to enhance coverage of relevant domains and dimensions in all surveys and to increase the informational value of the surveys.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-017-4465-7Physical workloadsMechanical exposuresMonitoringSurveillanceEuropean dimension |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Tore Tynes Cecilie Aagestad Sannie Vester Thorsen Lars Louis Andersen Merja Perkio-Makela Francisco Javier Pinilla García Luz Galiana Blanco Greet Vermeylen Agnes Parent-Thirion Wendela Hooftman Irene Houtman Falk Liebers Hermann Burr Maren Formazin |
spellingShingle |
Tore Tynes Cecilie Aagestad Sannie Vester Thorsen Lars Louis Andersen Merja Perkio-Makela Francisco Javier Pinilla García Luz Galiana Blanco Greet Vermeylen Agnes Parent-Thirion Wendela Hooftman Irene Houtman Falk Liebers Hermann Burr Maren Formazin Physical working conditions as covered in European monitoring questionnaires BMC Public Health Physical workloads Mechanical exposures Monitoring Surveillance European dimension |
author_facet |
Tore Tynes Cecilie Aagestad Sannie Vester Thorsen Lars Louis Andersen Merja Perkio-Makela Francisco Javier Pinilla García Luz Galiana Blanco Greet Vermeylen Agnes Parent-Thirion Wendela Hooftman Irene Houtman Falk Liebers Hermann Burr Maren Formazin |
author_sort |
Tore Tynes |
title |
Physical working conditions as covered in European monitoring questionnaires |
title_short |
Physical working conditions as covered in European monitoring questionnaires |
title_full |
Physical working conditions as covered in European monitoring questionnaires |
title_fullStr |
Physical working conditions as covered in European monitoring questionnaires |
title_full_unstemmed |
Physical working conditions as covered in European monitoring questionnaires |
title_sort |
physical working conditions as covered in european monitoring questionnaires |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
BMC Public Health |
issn |
1471-2458 |
publishDate |
2017-06-01 |
description |
Abstract Background The prevalence of workers with demanding physical working conditions in the European work force remains high, and occupational physical exposures are considered important risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), a major burden for both workers and society. Exposures to physical workloads are therefore part of the European nationwide surveys to monitor working conditions and health. An interesting question is to what extent the same domains, dimensions and items referring to the physical workloads are covered in the surveys. The purpose of this paper is to determine 1) which domains and dimensions of the physical workloads are monitored in surveys at the national level and the EU level and 2) the degree of European consensus among these surveys regarding coverage of individual domains and dimensions. Method Items on physical workloads used in one European wide/Spanish and five other European nationwide work environment surveys were classified into the domains and dimensions they cover, using a taxonomy agreed upon among all participating partners. Results The taxonomy reveals that there is a modest overlap between the domains covered in the surveys, but when considering dimensions, the results indicate a lower agreement. The phrasing of items and answering categories differs between the surveys. Among the domains, the three domains covered by all surveys are “lifting, holding & carrying of loads/pushing & pulling of loads”, “awkward body postures” and “vibrations”. The three domains covered less well, that is only by three surveys or less, are “physical work effort”, “working sitting”, and “mixed exposure”. Conclusions This is the fırst thorough overview to evaluate the coverage of domains and dimensions of self-reported physical workloads in a selection of European nationwide surveys. We hope the overview will provide input to the revisions and updates of the individual countries’ surveys in order to enhance coverage of relevant domains and dimensions in all surveys and to increase the informational value of the surveys. |
topic |
Physical workloads Mechanical exposures Monitoring Surveillance European dimension |
url |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-017-4465-7 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT toretynes physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires AT cecilieaagestad physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires AT sannievesterthorsen physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires AT larslouisandersen physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires AT merjaperkiomakela physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires AT franciscojavierpinillagarcia physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires AT luzgalianablanco physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires AT greetvermeylen physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires AT agnesparentthirion physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires AT wendelahooftman physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires AT irenehoutman physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires AT falkliebers physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires AT hermannburr physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires AT marenformazin physicalworkingconditionsascoveredineuropeanmonitoringquestionnaires |
_version_ |
1725274262528327680 |