A survey was conducted with union apprentices in 2018 and findings demonstrated high musculoskeletal symptoms and use of prescription pain medications. Opioids are commonly prescribed for treatment of musculoskeletal injuries and some data show these prescriptions are given for chronic musculoskeletal conditions as well. Construction workers have one of the highest rates of receiving prescriptions for opioid of any occupation and are at high risk of opioid overuse, dependency, and overdose fatalities. These concerns led to a request from the Carpenters’ Regional Council to extend the goals of the partnership by adding an opioid specific project to the ongoing apprentice project. The request is timely since opioid addiction and overdose have become a critical public health and workplace issue.
With supplemental funding from NIOSH to the Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest coupled with funds from the Institute for Public Health at Washington University, Associate Professor Ann Marie Dale, PhD, OTR/L, is examining this issue more closely. The new project includes workers in Missouri, Kansas and Southern Illinois and use personal health insurance claims data collected between 2015 and 2018.
Dale’s team is exploring the relationships between opioid use and potentially preventable musculoskeletal disorders that have been associated with the physically demanding work activities of union construction workers. They are also testing the effectiveness of an intervention to decrease opioid use. The intervention includes a policy to restrict the initial prescribed quantity to one week followed by the provider’s reassessment of the member’s health status before additional prescriptions. In addition, members with new opioid prescriptions will be sent educational materials describing the risks of abuse soon after filling an opioid prescription.
Evanoff BA, Rohlman D, Strickland JR, Kelly KM, Dale AM. (2018, April-May). “Influence of work organization and environment on health behaviors of construction apprentices.” Presented at the 32nd International Congress on Occupational Health, Dublin, Ireland.
Dale AM, Welch L, Evanoff BA. (2018, April-May). “Participatory ergonomic programs in commercial construction projects: Engagement with multiple organizational levels to improve effectiveness.” Presented at the 32nd International Congress on Occupational Health, Dublin, Ireland.
Dale AM, Rohlman DS, Strickland JR, Kelly KM, Evanoff BA. (2018, May). “Contrasting Prevalence of Health and Safety Risks and Controls between Residential and Commercial Construction Apprentices.” Presented at the 2nd International Symposium to Advance Total Worker Health, Bethesda, MD.
Evanoff BA, Rohlman, DS, Strickland JR, Kelly KM, Dale AM. (2018, May). “Influence of work organization and environment on health behaviors of construction apprentices.” Presented at the 2nd International Symposium to Advance Total Worker Health, Bethesda, MD.
Evanoff BA, Rohlman DS, Strickland JR, Kelly KM, Dale AM. (2018, October). “Influence of work organization and environment on health and productivity outcomes among construction apprentices: A Total Worker Health® approach.” Presented at the 7th National Occupational Injury Research Symposium (NOIRS), Morgantown, WV.
Rohlman DS, Stickland J. (2018, October). “Influence of work organization and environment on health behaviors.” Presented at the 15th Annual Greater St. Louis Safety & Health Conference, St. Louis, MO.
Dale AM, Rohlman DS, Strickland JR, Kelly KM, Evanoff BA. (2019, February). “Contrasting Prevalence of Health and Safety Risks and Controls between Residential and Commercial Construction Apprentices.” Webinar presented with the Work Wellness Disability
Prevention Institute.
Rohlman DS. (2019, February). “Total Worker Health: An Example with Construction Apprentices.” Presented at the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health Seminar, Iowa City, IA.
Evanoff BA, Rohlman DS, Strickland JR, Kelly KM, Dale AM. Influence of work organization and environment on health and productivity outcomes among construction apprentices: A Total Worker Health approach. 27th International Epidemiology in Occupational Health Conference (EPICOH), Aotearoa, New Zealand. 2019.
Rohlman DS, Evanoff, BA, Kelly KM, Strickland JM, Dale AM. The Impact of Work Organization and Work Environment on Health Behaviors of Construction Apprentices. 13th International Conference on Work, Stress and Health 2019, American Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA. 2019.
