Preventive Effects on Low Back Pain and Occupational Injuries by Providing the Participatory Occupational Safety and Health Program

Abstract

Preventive Effects on Low Back Pain and Occupational Injuries by Providing the Participatory Occupational Safety and Health Program: Shigeki Koda, et al. Department of Public Health, Kochi Medical School—The goal of the study was to estimate the effects of a participatory occupational safety and health (OSH) program on the incidence of low back pain (LBP) and occupational injuries (Ols). This participatory OSH program was introduced in the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Waste Management in 1986. The authors examined the incidence rates of LBP and Ols with lost working time and/or medical care cost. The incidence rate per 100 full‐time employees was calculated from 2,297 claimed cases of LBP and 9,272 claimed ones of Ols from 1984 to 1994. The strategy of a participatory OSH program, which developed original rule‐based OSH activities, included two factors: OSH activities that involved employees and employers from 1986 to 1990, and have been promoted by employee participation since 1991. The incidence rates for LBP and Ols have decreased from 2.73 and 8.30 per 100 full‐time employees in 1986 to 0.87 and 5.02 in 1994, respectively. The participatory OSH program, which has promoted employee‐employer involvement and employee participation, is effective in preventing LBP and Ols in the workplaces.