| The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2008 older Americans will represent the greatest growth rate, occupying 30% of the population. The workforce is aging: heavy industrial type repetitive work is largely gone; nonetheless workers are still being hurt, especially musculoskeletal disorders. This dissertation describes the research and literature pertinent to an aging workforce from the psychosocial perspective of occupational safety and health. One aspect of this research using archival data demonstrated that older workers do not sustain more recordable injuries than younger workers. Secondly, self reported musculoskeletal discomfort was shown to be strongly correlated to psychological discomfort. There was no impact of age, nor was there any psychosocial variable found that had a greater impact than any other. |
