Injuries and illnesses from wood framing in residential construction, Washington State, 1993-1999.

The construction industry is associated with high rates of work-related injury. We used workers compensation data to describe the injuries and illnesses, claim rates, and claim costs associated with wood framing activities in construction. From 1993 to 1999, there were 33,021 accepted state fund workers compensation claims with direct costs of over $197 million.

Use of a prevention index to identify industries at high risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders of the neck, back, and upper extremity in Washington state, 1990-1998.

Background: The prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome and low back disorders has been a focus of international prevention efforts including regulation. This study examines workers compensation claims in Washington State to provide baseline data from which to assess the need and the effects of prevention activities.

Methods: Washington State Fund workers compensation claims for general and selected specific hand/wrist, elbow, shoulder, and back disorders in 1990-1998 as well as general self-insured compensable (four or more lost workdays) claims data were examined.

Work-related eye injuries among union carpenters.

Union administrative records were combined with workers' compensation data to identify a cohort of 12,958 active union carpenters, their person-time at risk, and their documented work-related eye injuries between 1989 and 1995 in the state of Washington. The injuries were described using ANSI codes for injury nature, type (mechanism), and source or object associated with the event. Injuries which resulted in paid lost time from work were also described based on the ICD-9 codes attached to claims for their medical treatment.

Claims incidence of work-related disorders of the upper extremities: Washington state, 1987 through 1995.

Objectives: This study examined the claim incidence rate, cost, and industry distribution of work-related upper extremity disorders in Washington.

Methods: Washington State Fund workers' compensation claims from 1987 to 1995 were abstracted and categorized into general and specific disorders of gradual or sudden onset.

Results: Accepted claims included 100,449 for hand/wrist disorders (incidence rate: 98.

Occupational skin diseases in Washington State, 1989 through 1993: using workers' compensation data to identify cutaneous hazards.

Objectives: This study sought to characterize occupational dermatoses and cutaneous hazards.

Methods: Workers' compensation claims filed for skin disease in the Washington State Fund were analyzed for 1989 through 1993; incidence rates for industries and employers were calculated, and cutaneous hazards associated with the highest rates were identified.

Results: A total of 7445 claims were filed for skin disorders, principally contact dermatitis; 675 (9.

Surveillance of work-related musculoskeletal injuries among union carpenters.

Combined data sources, including union administrative records and workers' compensation claims, were used to construct event histories for a dynamic cohort of union carpenters from Washington State during the period 1989-1992. Person-time at risk and the events of interest were stratified by age, sex, time in the union, and predominant type of carpentry work. Poisson regression techniques were used to identify subgroups at greatest risk of filing claims for a variety of musculoskeletal disorders defined by ANSI codes for body part injured and injury nature.

Falls in construction: injury rates for OSHA-inspected employers before and after citation for violating the Washington State Fall Protection Standard.

This study examined the relationship between Washington's fall protection standard and injuries in construction workers. Workers' compensation claim rates for falls were examined for employers that were cited for violating the standard over the 1991-1992 period. Fall injury rates for the periods before and after inspections were compared.

Injuries due to assaults on psychiatric hospital employees in Washington State.

In order to estimate rates and identify risk factors for assaults on employees of a state psychiatric hospital, we examined workers' compensation claims, hospital-recorded incident reports, and data collected in a survey of ward staff. Results revealed 13.8 workers' compensation claims due to assault per 100 employees per year.

Evolutionary thinking in the history of the comparative psychology of learning.

Darwin's theory of evolution initially inspired researchers to search for intelligence in animals. The early work was dominated by the assumption that intelligence is qualitatively the same in all species, and that it is meaningful to compare all species in the same situation or situations. This assumption persisted through the "learning theory" era, even when interest had faded in species comparisons.

Taste-aversion learning in infant guinea pigs.

Infant guinea pigs were hand-fed a 10% sucrose solution and poisoned after delays of 0 min, 30 min, or 24+ hr. Subjects in the first 2 groups showed significant sucrose aversions when tested more than a month later. No significant difference existed between the 0- and 30-min groups; no deficiency in this type of learning was evident even in neonates.