Reliability of job-title based physical work exposures for the upper extremity: Comparison to self-reported and observed exposure estimates

Bethany T. Gardner, David A. Lombardi, Ann Marie Dale, Alfred Franzblau, Bradley A. Evanoff

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the agreement between job-title based estimates for upper extremity physical work exposures and exposure estimates from work observation and worker self-report. Methods: Self-reported exposure questionnaires were completed by 972 workers, and exposure estimates based on worksite observation were completed for a subset of 396 workers. Job-title based estimates were obtained from O*NET, an American database of job demands. Agreement between self-reported, observed and job-title based physical work exposures was assessed using Spearman correlations and intraclass correlation coefficients. Results: Job-title based exposure estimates from O*NET, self-reported and observer-rated exposures showed moderate to good levels of agreement for some upper extremity exposures, including lifting, forceful grip, use of vibrating tools and wrist bending. Conclusions: Job-title based physical work exposure variables may provide useful surrogate measures of upper extremity exposure data in the absence of other individual level data such as observed or self-reported exposure. Further validation of these data is necessary to determine the utility of the O*NET databases in future epidemiological studies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)538-547
Number of pages10
JournalOccupational and Environmental Medicine
Volume67
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2010

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