Center for Injury Epidemiology, Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA.
Occup Environ Med. 2011 Apr;68(4):279-85. doi: 10.1136/oem.2010.056218. Epub 2010 Oct 8.
Slips and falls are a leading cause of injury at work. Few studies, however, have systematically examined risk factors of slipping outside the laboratory environment. This study examined the association between floor surface characteristics, slip-resistant shoes, floor cleaning frequency and the risk of slipping in limited-service restaurant workers.
475 workers from 36 limited-service restaurants from three major chains in six states in the USA were recruited to participate in a prospective cohort study of workplace slipping. Kitchen floor surface roughness and coefficient of friction (COF) were measured in eight working areas and then averaged within each restaurant. The use of slip-resistant shoes was determined by examining the participant's shoes and noting the presence of a 'slip-resistant' marking on the sole. Restaurant managers reported the frequency of daily kitchen floor cleaning. Participants reported their slip experience and work hours weekly for up to 12 weeks. The survey materials were made available in three languages: English, Spanish and Portuguese. The associations between rate of slipping and risk factors were assessed using a multivariable negative binomial generalised estimating equation model.
The mean of individual slipping rate varied among the restaurants from 0.02 to 2.49 slips per 40 work hours. After adjusting for age, gender, BMI, education, primary language, job tenure and restaurant chain, the use of slip-resistant shoes was associated with a 54% reduction in the reported rate of slipping (95% CI 37% to 64%), and the rate of slipping decreased by 21% (95% CI 5% to 34%) for each 0.1 increase in the mean kitchen COF. Increasing floor cleaning frequency was significantly associated with a decreasing rate of slipping when considered in isolation but not after statistical adjustment for other factors.
These results provide support for the use of slip-resistant shoes and measures to increase COF as preventive interventions to reduce slips, falls and injuries.
滑倒摔伤是工作场所受伤的主要原因。然而，很少有研究系统地检查实验室环境之外滑倒的危险因素。本研究调查了有限服务餐厅工人滑倒风险与地面表面特性、防滑鞋、地板清洁频率之间的关系。
从美国六个州的三个主要连锁店的 36 家快餐店招募了 475 名工人，参与一项关于工作场所滑倒的前瞻性队列研究。在八个工作区域测量厨房地板表面粗糙度和摩擦系数（COF），然后在每个餐厅内进行平均。通过检查参与者的鞋子并注意鞋底是否有“防滑”标记来确定防滑鞋的使用情况。餐厅经理报告每天厨房地板清洁的频率。参与者每周报告他们的滑倒经历和工作时间，最长可达 12 周。调查材料提供了三种语言：英语、西班牙语和葡萄牙语。使用多变量负二项广义估计方程模型评估滑倒率与危险因素之间的关联。
个别滑倒率的平均值在餐厅之间差异很大，从 0.02 到 2.49 次/40 工作小时。调整年龄、性别、BMI、教育程度、第一语言、工作年限和餐厅连锁店后，使用防滑鞋与报告的滑倒率降低 54%（95%CI 37%至 64%）相关，厨房 COF 平均值每增加 0.1，滑倒率降低 21%（95%CI 5%至 34%）。单独考虑时，增加地板清洁频率与滑倒率呈显著负相关，但在对其他因素进行统计调整后则无相关性。
这些结果支持使用防滑鞋和增加 COF 的措施作为预防滑倒、摔倒和受伤的干预措施。
