Participatory Intervention Among Construction Workers (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.

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