Statistical profile of compensated back injuries in the Quebec construction industry

In 1995, 1 400 of the 6 400 work-related injuries that occurred in the cons truction sector in Quebec, and which were compensated by the Commission de la santi et de la securite du travail du Quebec (CSST, Quebec Workers' Comp ensation Board), were back injuries. ne goal of our study was to identify t hose trades within that sector which were most affected by back injuries an d to describe their characteristics. The data analysed comes from CSST admi nistrative files and claim forms, as well as from files of the Commission d e la construction du Quebec (CCQ, Quebec Construction Commission). Incidenc e rates and length of absence were analysed. Furthermore, for all of the co mpensated back injuries in the construction sector, multivariate statistica l analyses were carried out. Nearly half, of the subjects in our study were carpenter-joiners (23,4 %), labourers (13,3 %) or electricians (12,5 %). T he highest back injury incidence rate occurred among labourers, with more t han one quarter of back injuries being compensated; followed by a other tra des and professions " (reinforcing steel erectors, welders, servicemen, etc .) and tinsmiths. Back injuries that required the longest average length of absence involved interior finishing workers (152,9 days), carpenters (139, 4 days), and crane, heavy equipment and mechanical shovel operators (130,5 days). Seven accident scenarios emerged from the multivariate analyses. In order of importance, the most statistically significant variables for diffe rentiating between the scenarios were movements at the time of the accident , the type of accident, the causal agent for the injury, the task performed , and the trade. ne accident scenarios seem to indicate that excessive effo rt, body reactions related to body movements and, to a lesser extent, falls , were all determining factors in the occurrence of the accident. Back inju ries also appear to have been linked more often than was expected to the pe rformance of those tasks related to qualified tasks (handling, preparatory tasks or those undertaken immediately after a specialized task, and movemen t from one place to another). These results demonstrate the importance of f ocusing on prevention and research into such tasks performed by labourers a s well as by other workers (carpenter-joiners, interior finishing workers, etc.).