The demographic and contextual correlates of work‐related repetitive strain injuries among canadian men and women |
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| Authors: | F. Curtis Breslin PhD S. Ibrahim MSc P. Smith PhD C. Mustard ScD B. Amick PhD K. Shankardass PhD |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute for Work and Health, , Toronto, Ontario, Canada;2. Seneca College, School of English and Liberal Studies, , Toronto, Ontario, Canada;3. University of Toronto, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, , Toronto, Ontario, Canada;4. Monash University, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, , Victoria, Australia;5. University of Texas at Houston School of Public Health, Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, , Houston, Texas;6. Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, , Waterloo, Ontario, Canada;7. St. Michael's Hospital, , Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
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| Abstract: | Background The study sought to identify gender differences in work‐related repetitive strain injuries (RSI), as well as examine the degree to which non‐work factors such as family roles interact with gender to modify RSI risk. Another aim is to examine whether there are potential provincial differences in work‐related RSI risk. Methods The 2003/2005 Canadian Community Health Survey included over 89,000 respondents who reported working in the past 12 months. Separate multi‐level models for men and women were used to identify the correlates of work‐related RSIs. Results Women reported sustaining more work‐related RSIs than men. Also, having one or more children in the household was associated with lower work‐related RSI risk for females. Both men and women in British Columbia reported higher work‐related RSI rates than in Ontario. Conclusions Gender contributes to RSI risk in multiple and diverse ways based on labor market segregation, non‐work exposures, and possibly biological vulnerability, which suggests more tailored interventions. Also, the provincial differences indicate that monitoring and surveillance of work injury across jurisdictions can assist in province‐wide prevention and occupational health and safety evaluation. Am. J. Ind. Med. 56:1180–1189, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
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| Keywords: | gender differences occupational health and safety occupational injury geographic risk factors |
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