ABSTRACT
Means to Set Risk Level Scores .................................... 317 10.3 Selection of an Appropriate Ergonomic Risk Assessment Technique ........ 322
10.3.1 Selection of an Ergonomic Risk Assessment Based on Content Validity ............................................................................. 323
10.3.2 Selection of an Ergonomic Risk Assessment Based on Predictive Validity .................................................................... 324
10.3.3 Selection of an Ergonomic Risk Assessment Based on Concurrent Validity .................................................................. 335
10.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 335 References .............................................................................................................. 335
A large body of evidence supporting the role of workplace physical exposures in the causation of musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) is now available (U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, 1997). A number of mechanisms of injury causation based on established physiologic principles have been proposed (Kumar, 2001). A systematic review of epidemiologic literature examining the relationship of physical exposures to MSIs has found that in most specifi c MSI conditions, the risk associated with combined physical exposures is greater than the risk associated with the physical exposures alone (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1997). Given it is the combination of physical exposures which are most strongly related to precipitation of MSI, a model of MSI causation is needed, which is able to account for the relative role of the individual exposure variables. A validated model of MSI causation is needed to enable ergonomic practitioners to identify jobs at increased risk of MSI. Should a model of MSI causation be able to correctly identify jobs associated with high rates of MSI it follows that the model will have correctly accounted for the relative role of the physical exposures and may be used to evaluate the relative risk associated with those exposures.
