Accident indicators and profiles as a function of the age of female nurses and food services workers in the Quebec health and social services sector

The relation between accidents and age was studied among female nurses and food services workers in the Quebec health and social services sector. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of accident occurrence and severity rates were performed. Descriptive accident profiles were also done. The results reveal a decrease of occurrence rate with age in both occupations, and an increase in accident severity with age among food services workers but not nurses. However, the only stable relationship between accident indicators and aging revealed by the longitudinal analyses was a decrease of occurrence rate among nurses. Seven age-related accident profiles were identified. For example, low back pain characterised young nurses while wrist and shoulder pain were characteristic of older food services workers. Similarly, falls were typical of older workers, irrespective of occupation. These results illustrate the importance of using homogeneous occupational groups, multiple sources of accident data, and both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses when conducting research on aging. Finally, this study emphasizes the need for field research. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.