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Author: Delbos, Rachel G.
Resulting in 5 citations.
1. Dembe, Allard E.
Delbos, Rachel G.
Erickson, J. Bianca
Estimates of Injury Risks for Healthcare Personnel Working Night Shifts and Long Hours
Quality and Safety in Health Care 18,5 (October 2009): 336-340.
Also: http://qshc.bmj.com/content/18/5/336.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group, Ltd. - British Medical Journal Publishing Group
Keyword(s): Health Care; Injuries, Workplace; Shift Workers; Work Hours/Schedule; Work, Atypical

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that working long hours or unconventional shifts (night, evening and rotating shifts) can induce fatigue and stress in healthcare employees that might jeopardise quality of care and patient safety. METHODS: This study is based on a retrospective analysis of 13 years of occupational data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, covering nearly 11,000 American workers. During the study period, 545 injuries were reported by employees in healthcare professions. Cox proportional hazard analyses were used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios comparing the risk of a job-related injury among healthcare workers in various types of demanding schedules to employees working conventional schedules. The analyses were stratified to estimate risks within different occupational classifications and care settings. RESULTS: The greatest injury risks to healthcare workers were in schedules involving overtime or at least 60 h per week. Interestingly, an elevated risk of injury was not observed for healthcare employees working 12 or more hours per day or for those in night, evening or rotating shifts. Among employees working overtime and long-hour (>60 h per week) schedules, those at medical provider offices had a significantly higher risk of injury (HR 2.86) than at hospitals, rehabilitation clinics or long-term care facilities. Support personnel, including aids, attendants, technicians, therapists and dieticians, faced a higher risk of injury than did physicians and nurses. CONCLUSION: Healthcare managers responsible for quality improvement and patient safety programmes should be aware of the possibility for worker fatigue and injury in particular scheduling arrangements.
Bibliography Citation
Dembe, Allard E., Rachel G. Delbos and J. Bianca Erickson. "Estimates of Injury Risks for Healthcare Personnel Working Night Shifts and Long Hours." Quality and Safety in Health Care 18,5 (October 2009): 336-340.
2. Dembe, Allard E.
Delbos, Rachel G.
Erickson, J. Bianca
Banks, Steven M.
Associations Between Employees' Work Schedules and the Vocational Consequences of Workplace Injuries
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation 17,4 (December 2007): 641-651
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): Accidents; Gender Differences; Injuries, Workplace; Occupations; Shift Workers; Variables, Independent - Covariate; Vocational Rehabilitation; Work Hours/Schedule

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

INTRODUCTION: This study examines the effect of long-hour work schedules and nonstandard shift work (e.g., night and evening shifts) on the ability of injured workers to maintain productive employment following a workplace injury. METHODS: Analyses were based on 13 years of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed with one of ten nonstandard schedules as the independent variable and a particular vocational consequences as the dependent variable. Vocational consequences included being unable to perform normal job duties, temporary job reassignment, working less than full time, filing a workers' compensation claim, and quitting or being fired because of the injury. Covariates in the regression model included age, gender, occupation, industry, and region. RESULTS: The most prominent effects of working a nonstandard schedule were a increased risk of being fired (OR = 1.81; 1.15-2.90 CI 95%), quitting (OR = 1.68; 1.20-2.36 CI 95%), or being unable to work full time (OR = 1.33; 1.08-1.64 CI 95%) following an injury, compared to injured workers in conventional schedules. Schedules involving overtime and long working hours generally had a greater impact on vocational consequences following a workplace injury than did schedules involving night, evening, and other nonstandard shift work. CONCLUSIONS: Occupational rehabilitation professionals need to consider the specific type of work schedule when developing effective return-to-work plans for injured workers. Special precautions need to be taken for workers returning to schedules that involve more than 12 h per day, 60 h per week, and long commutes.
Bibliography Citation
Dembe, Allard E., Rachel G. Delbos, J. Bianca Erickson and Steven M. Banks. "Associations Between Employees' Work Schedules and the Vocational Consequences of Workplace Injuries." Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation 17,4 (December 2007): 641-651 .
3. Dembe, Allard E.
Erickson, J. Bianca
Delbos, Rachel G.
Predictors of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses: National Survey Findings
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 1,8 (August 2004): 542-550
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Keyword(s): Family Income; Injuries; Job Characteristics; Job Hazards; Job Satisfaction; Occupations; Rural Areas; Shift Workers; Variables, Independent - Covariate; Working Conditions

This study used national survey data of working adults (aged 33-41) to identify factors associated with the occurrence of occupational injuries and illnesses. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used to compare selected employment and personal characteristics for respondents who reported experiencing a work-related injury or illness with those who did not. Multivariate analyses were performed to calculate nationally representative odds ratios reflecting the likelihood for specific individual attributes and job characteristics to be associated with the reporting of a work-related injury or illness, while controlling for relevant covariates. In this study the incidence of occupational injuries was related to several demographic factors, including low family income and rural residence, and several job characteristics, including working in a high-hazard occupation, job dissatisfaction, and exposure to six specific hazardous job activities: (1)performing lots of physical effort on the job, (2) lifting or carrying more than 10 lbs, (3) using stairs and inclines, (4) kneeling or crouching, (5) reaching, and (6) hearing special sounds. These results suggest targeted prevention strategies for decreasing the incidence of work-related injuries and illnesses, such as worker self-assessment of the total physical effort demanded by a job and periodic monitoring of workforce job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bibliography Citation
Dembe, Allard E., J. Bianca Erickson and Rachel G. Delbos. "Predictors of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses: National Survey Findings." Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 1,8 (August 2004): 542-550.
4. Dembe, Allard E.
Erickson, J. Bianca
Delbos, Rachel G.
Banks, Steven M.
Nonstandard Shift Schedules and the Risk of Job-Related Injuries
Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health 32,3 (June 2006): 232-340.
Also: http://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=1004
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland
Keyword(s): Injuries; Job Characteristics; Job Hazards; Job Satisfaction; Occupations; Shift Workers; Variables, Independent - Covariate; Working Conditions

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the extent to which working various types of nonstandard shift schedules (e.g., night and evening shifts) is associated with the risk of occupational injuries or illnesses.

METHODS: Multivariate analyses were conducted using data from 13 years (1987 to 2000) of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) encompassing 110 236 job records and over 82 000 person-years of work experience. Cox proportional hazard regression techniques were used to derive hazard ratios comparing the relative risk of suffering a work-related injury among people working night, evening, rotating, split, and irregular shifts to the risks for those working conventional day shifts, after adjustment for age, gender, occupation, industry, and region. Incidence rates were normalized using a common denominator of 100 person-years of "at-risk time" to obtain valid comparisons.

RESULTS: All of the nonstandard shift schedules, except split shifts, were found to have a higher risk for occupational injuries and illnesses than conventional day shifts. After control for the selected covariates, the calculated hazard ratios were 1.43 for evening shifts [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.26-1.62], 1.36 for rotating shifts (95% CI 1.17-1.58), 1.30 for night shifts (95% CI 1.12-1.52), 1.15 for irregular shifts (1.03-1.30), and 1.06 for split shifts (0.71-1.58).

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that nonstandard shifts are not more risky merely because of the concentration of hazardous jobs in those types of schedules or because of underlying differences in the characteristics of employees working nonstandard shifts. The results point to the need to extend targeted injury prevention programs not only to people working night shifts, but also to those who work evenings.

Bibliography Citation
Dembe, Allard E., J. Bianca Erickson, Rachel G. Delbos and Steven M. Banks. "Nonstandard Shift Schedules and the Risk of Job-Related Injuries." Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health 32,3 (June 2006): 232-340.
5. Dembe, Allard E.
Erickson, J. Bianca
Delbos, Rachel G.
Banks, Steven M.
The Impact of Overtime and Long Work Hours on Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: New Evidence from the United States
Occuptional and Environmental Medicine 62 (2005):588–597.
Also: http://oem.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/62/9/588
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group, Ltd. - British Medical Journal Publishing Group
Keyword(s): Commuting/Type, Time, Method; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Injuries; Work Histories; Work Hours/Schedule

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Aims: To analyse the impact of overtime and extended working hours on the risk of occupational injuries and illnesses among a nationally representative sample of working adults from the United States.

Methods: Responses from 10 793 Americans participating in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) were used to evaluate workers' job histories, work schedules, and occurrence of occupational injury and illness between 1987 and 2000. A total of 110 236 job records were analysed, encompassing 89 729 person-years of accumulated working time. Aggregated incidence rates in each of five exposure categories were calculated for each NLSY survey period. Multivariate analytical techniques were used to estimate the relative risk of long working hours per day, extended hours per week, long commute times, and overtime schedules on reporting a work related injury or illness, after adjusting for age, gender, occupation, industry, and region.

Results/: After adjusting for those factors, working in jobs with overtime schedules was associated with a 61% higher injury hazard rate compared to jobs without overtime. Working at least 12 hours per day was associated with a 37% increased hazard rate and working at least 60 hours per week was associated with a 23% increased hazard rate. A strong dose-response effect was observed, with the injury rate (per 100 accumulated worker-years in a particular schedule) increasing in correspondence to the number of hours per day (or per week) in the workers' customary schedule.

Conclusions: Results suggest that job schedules with long working hours are not more risky merely because they are concentrated in inherently hazardous industries or occupations, or because people working long hours spend more total time "at risk" for a work injury. Strategies to prevent work injuries should consider changes in scheduling practices, job redesign, and health protection programmes for people working in jo bs involving overtime and extended hours.

Bibliography Citation
Dembe, Allard E., J. Bianca Erickson, Rachel G. Delbos and Steven M. Banks. "The Impact of Overtime and Long Work Hours on Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: New Evidence from the United States." Occuptional and Environmental Medicine 62 (2005):588–597. A.