Documents Hannerz, Harald 6 results

"Background Data indicates that Denmark has relatively high risks of occupational injuries. We evaluated all injuries resulting in hospitalization by occupation. Methods All gainfully employed men younger than 60 in 1990 were divided into 47 industrial groups and followed using the National Inpatient Registry, for hospitalized injuries 1991-1993. Following ICD-8, injuries were grouped into six categories: head, upper extremities, back, trunk, lower extremities and ruptures, sprains and strains. Standardized industrial hospitalization ratios (SHRs) were calculated and Pearson's independence test was performed for each category. Results Industrial differences were ascertained for each injury category. The highest associated injury category was upper extremity injuries ranging from SHR = 43 (fire services and salvage corps) to SHR = 209 (slaughterhouse industry). Carpentry, joinery, bricklaying and construction work had significantly high SHRs for all injury categories, whereas administrative work was significantly low throughout. Conclusions Occupational surveillance systems based on hospitalized injuries can be used to identify high-risk industries, and thereby suggest where to direct prevention efforts. "

"Objectives The aim of this article is to present the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ), a questionnaire developed in three different lengths for assessing psychosocial factors at work, stress, and the well-being of employees and some personality factors. The purpose of the COPSOQ concept is to improve and facilitate research, as well as practical interventions at the workplaces.Methods The development of the questionnaire was based on a survey of a representative sample of 1858 Danish employees aged 20–59 years. The response rate was 62%; 49% were women. Altogether 145 questions from some international and Danish questionnaires and 20 self-developed questions were tested with factor analyses, analyses of internal reliability, and analyses of response patterns.Results The analyses resulted in a long research version of the questionnaire with 141 questions and 30 dimensions, a medium-length version for work environment professionals with 95 questions and 26 dimensions, and a short version for workplaces with 44 questions and 8 dimensions. Most of the scales have good reliability, and there seems to be very little overlap between the scales. A novel feature of the COPSOQ is the development of five different scales on demands at work.Conclusions The COPSOQ concept is a valid and reliable tool for workplace surveys, analytic research, interventions, and international comparisons. The questionnaire seems to be comprehensive and to include most of the relevant dimensions according to several important theories on psychosocial factors at work. The three versions facilitate communication between researchers, work environment professionals, and workplaces."(Authors' abstract)

"Background. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of disability pension among workers engaged in the construction of the Øresund Link or the Copenhagen Metro, representing high levels of safety management.Methods. The study subjects (n = 1,808) were followed for disability retirement. Age standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated and compared with SIRs of disability pension established in a previous study of workers engaged in the construction of the Great Belt Link (N = 5,882), representing a low level of safety management.Results. Compared with all economically active men, the age SIR of disability retirement was 2.22 (95% CI = 1.61, 2.98) among the study subjects and 2.29 (95% CI = 1.9, 2.67) among workers at the Great Belt Link.Conclusion. No significant progress was found in the incidence of disability pension among the study subjects despite substantial improvements in safety management compared with the Great Belt Link."