Workplace Injuries Caused by Commercial Fishing Winches-Alaska, 2000-2020.

Objectives: Deck machinery is a leading source of hospitalized injury for commercial fishing workers in Alaska. More detailed data are needed about the specific circumstances leading to injuries for developing targeted prevention efforts.

Methods: This study analyzed claims submitted to the Alaska Fisherman's Fund (AFF) to identify patterns among injuries in Alaska from commercial fishing winches.

Health Equity and a Paradigm Shift in Occupational Safety and Health.

Despite significant improvements in occupational safety and health (OSH) over the past 50 years, there remain persistent inequities in the burden of injuries and illnesses. In this commentary, the authors assert that addressing these inequities, along with challenges associated with the fundamental reorganization of work, will require a more holistic approach that accounts for the social contexts within which occupational injuries and illnesses occur. A biopsychosocial approach explores the dynamic, multidirectional interactions between biological phenomena, psychological factors, and social contexts, and can be a tool for both deeper understanding of the social determinants of health and advancing health equity.

Linking Datasets to Characterize Injury and Illness in Alaska's Fishing Industry.

Limited research has characterized nonfatal injury/illness in Alaska's hazardous fishing industry. This study aimed to determine (a) the utility of linking datasets to conduct surveillance, and (b) injury/illness patterns during 2012-2016. Data were obtained from the Alaska Trauma Registry (ATR), Fishermen's Fund (FF), and US Coast Guard (USCG).

Using Workers' Compensation Claims Data to Describe Nonfatal Injuries among Workers in Alaska.

Background: To gain a better understanding of nonfatal injuries in Alaska, underutilized data sources such as workers' compensation claims must be analyzed. The purpose of the current study was to utilize workers' compensation claims data to estimate the risk of nonfatal, work-related injuries among occupations in Alaska, characterize injury patterns, and prioritize future research.

Methods: A dataset with information on all submitted claims during 2014-2015 was provided for analysis.

Exposures and Health Effects of Bioaerosols in Seafood Processing Workers - a Position Statement.

Occupational hazards exist in the processing of seafood both in land-based facilities as well as on board vessels. Recent findings on occupational injury and respiratory health risks among seafood processing workers were presented and discussed at the IFISH5 conference. Particular emphasis was put on the challenges that im/migrant workers encounter, the greater risks onboard factory vessels, especially where processing machinery are retrofitted to older vessels not primarily designed for this purpose, and the difficulties in assessing and preventing bioaerosol exposures and associated respiratory health risks despite recent advances in characterising agents responsible for allergic and non-allergic reactions.

Non-Fatal Injuries and Injury Treatment in the West Coast Dungeness Crab Fishery.

: Non-fatal injuries in the high risk US Dungeness crab fishery have been under-documented, despite their potential for lost work time and income, long-term disability, and early unwanted retirement. The Fishermen Led Injury Prevention Program (FLIPP) characterized injuries in this fishery, in order to identify work hazards and inform injury control measures.: The FLIPP injury survey was completed by 426 fishermen in 23 Washington, Oregon, and California fishing ports prior to the 2015-2016 Dungeness crab season; 413 (97%) provided injury information for this analysis.

Dungeness crab fishermen perceptions of injury causation and factors in staying safe.

Background: Commercial fishing is a hazardous occupation in the United States (US). Injury surveillance data relies heavily on US Coast Guard reports, which capture injuries severe enough to require reporting. The reports do not incorporate the fishermen's perspective on contributing factors to injuries and staying safe while fishing.

Injury and illness among onshore workers in Alaska's seafood processing industry: Analysis of workers' compensation claims, 2014-2015.

Background: Alaska's onshore seafood processing industry is economically vital and hazardous.

Methods: Accepted Alaska workers' compensation claims data from 2014 to 2015 were manually reviewed and coded with the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System and associated work activity. Workforce data were utilized to calculate rates.

Dungeness crab commercial fishermen's perceptions of injuries inform survey development.

Introduction: The West Coast Dungeness crab fishery is high-risk for occupational fatalities. The Fishermen Led Injury Prevention Program (FLIPP) explored this worker population's nonfatal injuries and safety perspectives.

Methods: Focus groups were held along the West Coast to (a) review reported injuries, (b) discuss risk factors, and (c) identify content to inform future FLIPP research activities, including survey development.

Occupational traumatic injuries among offshore seafood processors in Alaska, 2010-2015.

Introduction: The U.S. Coast Guard and Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration have identified the Alaskan offshore seafood processing industry as high-risk.

Analysis of workers' compensation disabling claims in Oregon's seafood preparation and packaging industry, 2007-2013.

Background: Few occupational health and safety studies have focused on the US seafood preparation and packaging industry, and none on Oregon's seafood industry.

Methods: Oregon workers' compensation (WC) disabling claims data were analyzed. Oregon Employment Department and US Census Bureau data were used as denominators for rates.