A framework for using data and collaboration to drive prevention through engineering design: Reducing injury and severity in greenhouse and nursery workers.

Introduction: A framework of collaboration between safety professionals and design engineers was proposed that provided direction for utilizing analysis of quantitative and qualitative data to prevent worker injury. This interdisciplinary, context-steeped approach can be utilized across a variety of industries to promote risk reduction by designing equipment and processes to prevent common workplace injuries in the first place. Safety professional expertise in regional worker's compensation claims analysis (including statistical analysis on a quantitative basis and qualitative analysis of trends in written injury descriptions of circumstance) provided the starting point for identifying industries of interest for this approach.

Risk factors for occupational injuries in schools among educators and support staff.

Introduction: School districts employ a large number of employees who work in educational (e.g., teachers) or other support roles, including educational assistants, custodians, food service, bus drivers, and community and recreation workers.

Differential effectiveness of the Minnesota Safe Patient Handling Act by health care setting: An exploratory study.

Background: The Minnesota Safe Patient Handling (MN SPH) Act requires health care facilities to implement comprehensive programs to protect their workers from musculoskeletal injuries caused by lifting and transferring patients. Nursing homes, hospitals, and outpatient facilities each face unique challenges implementing and maintaining SPH programs. The objective of the study was to compare patient handling injuries in these three health care settings and determine whether change in injury rate over time differed by setting following enactment of the law.

Evaluation of the Minnesota Safe Patient Handling Act: trends in workers' compensation indemnity claims in nursing home workers before and after enactment of the law.

Objectives: The 2007 Minnesota Safe Patient Handling Act aims to protect healthcare workers from injuries caused by lifting and transferring patients. The effectiveness of the law in nursing homes is unknown. This policy evaluation measured changes in patient handling injuries before and after the law was enacted.

Occupational differences in workers' compensation indemnity claims among direct care workers in Minnesota nursing homes, 2005-2016.

Background: Nursing assistants have one of the highest injury rates in the U.S., but few population-based studies assess differential injury risk by occupation in nursing homes.

Student-inflicted injuries to staff in schools: comparing risk between educators and non-educators.

Objective: Student-inflicted injury to staff in the educational services sector is a growing concern. Studies on violence have focused on teachers as victims, but less is known about injuries to other employee groups, particularly educational assistants. Inequities may be present, as educational assistants and non-educators may not have the same wage, benefits, training and employment protections available to them as professional educators.

Workers' compensation loss prevention representative contact and risk of lost-time injury in construction policyholders.

Introduction: Insurance loss prevention (LP) representatives have access and contact with businesses and employees to provide targeted safety and health resources. Construction firms, especially those smaller in size, are a high-risk population. This research evaluated the association between LP rep contact and risk for lost-time injuries in construction policyholders.

Injury rates, severity, and drug testing programs in small construction companies.

Problem: Construction work is hazardous and workers consistently rank in the top of all occupations and industries for illicit drug and heavy alcohol use.

Methods: Drug-testing programs were classified into three categories: no program, pre-employment/post-accident, and pre-employment/post-accident/random/suspicion. We analyzed workers' compensation claims from 1,360 construction companies over a six-year period to assess the possible association of testing program with injury rate.