Effectiveness of the HomeSafe Pilot Program in reducing injury rates among residential construction workers, 1994-1998.
BACKGROUND
The construction industry typically has one of the highest fatal and non-fatal injury rates compared with other industries. Residential construction workers are at particular risk of injury (work is in remote sites with small crews, there are often many subcontractors, and they have limited access to safety programs). Difficulty accessing information specific to this group has made research more challenging, therefore, there are few studies. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the HomeSafe Pilot Program, a safety education and training program designed to reduce injuries among residential construction workers.


METHODS
Researchers evaluated whether overall and severe injury incidence rates declined during the intervention period. Data were analyzed using incidence rates and Poisson regression to control for the effect of antecedent secular trend.


RESULTS
Injury incidence rates declined significantly following HomeSafe; however, this effect was not statistically significant once temporal variation was controlled.


CONCLUSIONS
The decline in injury rates following HomeSafe cannot be attributed solely to HomeSafe, however, programmatic and methodologic limitations contributed to the inconclusive results. Further research into the hazards faced by residential construction workers is needed. Am. J. Ind. Med. 45:210-217, 2004.
Darragh
Amy Rowntree
AR
Graduate Program in Occupational Therapy, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Connecticut 06432, USA. darragha@sacredheart.edu
Stallones
Lorann
L
Bigelow
Phillip L
PL
Keefe
Thomas J
TJ
D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000328:Adult; D003252:Construction Materials; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007318:Inservice Training; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D000078329:Workforce; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*