PSVIII-14 An investigation of relationship between self-reported measures of skill and occupational injuries.

Abstract

Working with cattle is dangerous; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports fatal injuries for animal agriculture workers in 2019 was 22.2 per 100,000 full-time workers, while the rate for all private sectors was 3.8 per 100,000. Occupational injuries sustained while working with cattle may result in hospitalization, time away from work, disability, and death. Skill level is likely a contributing factor for risk of occupational injuries sustained while working with cattle. Highly skilled handlers may understand critical principles of cattle behavior and handling practices associated with safer cattle handling. There is not a published method for objective assessment of skill. Years of experience (YOE) working with cattle is a common metric for describing eligibility for employment working with cattle. This metric is based on the assumption that more time spent employed as a livestock worker results in an inevitable increase in skill. To better understand the implications of such assumptions, and factors associated with occupational injury, investigators collected survey data and assessed objective criteria for 20 participants. Demographic information, including YOE, self-rating, and injury history were obtained from all participants. An expert evaluated participants during 10 predetermined cattle handling tasks and scored their performance. Independently assigned scores were compared to self-rating of expertise and injury history for each participant. All participants reported five or more years of experience working with cattle and rated their expertise between 2-4 on a 5-point scale, where 1 denoted beginner and 5 denoted expert. For participants who reported similar YOE, injury history varied. Male participants with a self-rating of 2 or 3 reported no prior injuries sustained while working with cattle, but 100% with a self-rating of 4 reported prior injuries. For female participants with a self-rating of 4, 50% reported prior injuries sustained working with cattle. When compared with female participants, a greater percentage of male participants (80% vs. 40%) reported prior injuries sustained working with cattle. In this study, self-reported measures did not agree with independently scored skill level, and may not be reliable for reporting eligibility for employment.