WORK-RELATED MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS - COMPARISON OF DATA SOURCES FOR SURVEILLANCE

Work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders ''associated wi th repented trauma'' account for more than 60% of all newly reported o ccupational illness, 332,000 in 1994 according to the U.S. Department of Labor. These numbers do not include, for example, those disorders c ategorized as ''injuries due to overexertion in lifting,'' approximate ly 370,000. Early identification of potential disorders and associated risk factors is needed to reduce these disorders. There are a number of possible method's for conducting surveillance for work-related musc uloskeletal disorders (WMDs) based on health outcome: workers' compens ation, sickness and accident insurance, OSHA 200 logs, plant medical r ecords, self-administered questionnaires, professional interviews, and physical examinations. In addition, hazard surveillance based on eval uation of job exposures to physical stressors by nonoccupational healt h personnel is possible. As part of a large labor-management-initiated intervention study to reduce the incidence of WMDs in four automotive plants, we were able to compare the strengths and limitations of each of these surveillance tools. University administered health interview s yielded the highest rate of symptoms; combined physical examinations plus interview (point prevalence) rates were similar to self-administ ered questionnaires (period prevalence) rates. Plant medical records y ielded the lowest rate of WMDs. WMD status on self-administered questi onnaire and on physical examination were associated with risk factor e xposure scores. This study suggests that symptoms questionnaires and c hecklist-based hazard surveillance are feasible within the context of joint labor-management ergonomics programs and are more sensitive indi cators of ergonomic problems than pre-existing data sources. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.