Barriers to Conducting Field Research in Residential Carpentry

Aims This study describes barriers to obtaining work exposure data from apprentice carpenters.

Methods Participating carpenters in a prospective study of carpal tunnel syndrome were contacted at their trade school to obtain consent; contractors were contacted to provide consent and schedule the worksite visits. Data collection included frequency of employer contacts, duration of visits, and number of contractor changes by participants.

Results Of 263 carpenters selected for the worksite visit, 125 (48%) consented to participate. Eighty-two (31%) subjects had left the industry and 51 (19%) stated personal reasons for refusal or dropped from the study. Five (1.9%) subjects felt the contractor would not approve the visit. To date, 44 of 51 contacted employers have provided consent for a completion of 57 visits. Seven companies declined consent: 2 for liability and 5 for workers' compensation concerns. Successfully completing a worksite visit required an average of four calls to schedule (range 1-11) and a mean of 116 minutes for travel and onsite time. On average, the subject changed contractors 4.3 times (range 1-27) during a two year period.

Conclusions Field data collection in construction entails numerous barriers including subject apprehension, transiency of workers, and the logistics of communicating with contractors, particularly small contractors who work out in the field. Overcoming these barriers is critical to gaining the information necessary to improve occupational health and safety in the construction sector.