Training and Communication Needed To Reduce Injuries and Illnesses

A survey of health and safety programming needs in small high-hazard industries was done in cooperation with a district health department to assist that agency in planning for occupational health services. A theoretical framework was used to design a 16 question standardized written survey on health and safety programming needs. The survey form was sent out to 261 employers (155 responded) in Standard Industrial Classification Codes 20-29 who employed fewer than 100 workers. These industries, classified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as high-hazard, are located in Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas counties in the metropolitan Denver, Colorado area. To account for differences in needs which might be related to size, this group was stratified into four size groups according to the number of employees per industry. Results presented under the five basic categories of information collected by the survey 1) Program Content, 2) Methods for Program Delivery, 3) Client Perceptions Regarding Worker Safety and Health, 4) Client Economics, and 5) Client Management Systems, showed that employers are most interested in programs which relate to occupational injuries, especially cuts and bruises, back injuries, and eye injuries. All groups indicated that insurance and worker's compensation carriers are the resources they trust the most for safety and health information. The level of interest in worker health and safety shown by employers increased with the number of employees per health and industry. All employers surveyed noted that insurance and worker's compensation costs would be the business costs they would most like to reduce. The two smallest strata groups prefer to let workers seek their own safety and health care while the two larger groups prefer to assign one employee or a committee to manage these concerns.