title: Contractor-, steward-, and coworker-safety practice: associations with musculoskeletal pain and injury-related absence among construction apprentices.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This paper sought to assess organizational safety practices at three different levels of hierarchical workplace structure and to examine their association with injury outcomes among construction apprentices.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a cross-sectional sample of 1,775 construction apprentices, three measures of organizational safety practice were assessed: contractor-, steward-, and coworker-safety practice. Each safety practice measure was assessed using three similar questions (i.e., on-the-job safety commitment, following required or recommended safe work practices, and correcting unsafe work practices); the summed average of the responses ranged from 1 to 4, with a higher score indicating poorer safety practice. Outcome variables included the prevalence of four types of musculoskeletal pain (i.e., neck, shoulder, hand, and back pain) and injury-related absence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In adjusted analyses, contractor-safety practice was associated with both hand pain (OR: 1.27, 95 % CI: 1.04, 1.54) and back pain (OR: 1.40, 95 % CI: 1.17, 1.68); coworker-safety practice was related to back pain (OR: 1.42, 95 % CI: 1.18, 1.71) and injury-related absence (OR: 1.36, 95 % CI: 1.11, 1.67). In an analysis that included all three safety practice measures simultaneously, the association between coworker-safety practice and injury-related absence remained significant (OR: 1.68, 95 % CI: 1.20, 2.37), whereas all other associations became non-significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that organizational safety practice, particularly coworker-safety practice, is associated with injury outcomes among construction apprentices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Management, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, ssk3@korea.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Seung-Sup
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Lauren M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Dutra
authors.forename: Cassandra A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Okechukwu
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001416:Back Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D060389:Construction Industry; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016272:Occupational Health; D015995:Prevalence; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D020069:Shoulder Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D017132:Workplace; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult