Participatory Intervention Among Construction Workers (IRMA11) (IRMA11)

Deltagerinvolverende Intervention Mod Fysiske Risikofaktorer for Muskel- og skeletbesvær i Byggebranchen

There is high prevalence of back pain and neck-shoulder pain among blue collar workers. Physical excessive exposures such as heavy lifting or working with a bended or twisted back are independent risk factors for back pain among workers in the construction industry. Participatory ergonomic initiatives increase the success of interventions aimed at reducing physical excessive exposures. The objectives are in two phases to; 1) determine which work-tasks in selected job-groups involve the highest load of the back and shoulders during a normal working day (using EMG, Actigraphs, Video). 2) investigate whether a participatory intervention can reduce physical workloads, drawing on information from objective measurements from phase 1.

Participatory intervention with workers and their leaders. Workshops with presentation of work tasks with excessive physical load and subsequently plans to reduce these loads

Receive standard information about correct lifting technics, use of assistive technology, and ergonomics

The primary outcome of the present study is the change from baseline to follow-up in frequency of events with excessive physical load

Change in "low back pain intensity during the last week" from baseline to follow-up. A horizontally oriented modified VAS scale will be used with 11 points from 0 to 10.

Social Capital within work teams, between work teams, and between teams and their leaders Reference for questionnaire: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26261190

Inclusion Criteria: Full time construction workers who are member of a labor union and can read and understand Danish. The type of work must include manual work that involves lifting Exclusion Criteria: life-threatening diseases pregnancy hypertension >160/100 mmHg unable to participate in the measurements

Brandt M, Madeleine P, Samani A, Ajslev JZ, Jakobsen MD, Sundstrup E, Andersen LL. Effects of a Participatory Ergonomics Intervention With Wearable Technical Measurements of Physical Workload in the Construction Industry: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2018 Dec 19;20(12):e10272. doi: 10.2196/10272.

Brandt M, Madeleine P, Ajslev JZ, Jakobsen MD, Samani A, Sundstrup E, Kines P, Andersen LL. Participatory intervention with objectively measured physical risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders in the construction industry: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2015 Oct 16;16:302. doi: 10.1186/s12891-015-0758-0.