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Preventive occupational health interventions in the meat processing industry in upper-middle and high-income countries: a systematic review on their effectiveness

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Abstract

Objective

To investigate the effectiveness of occupational health interventions in the meat processing industry on work and health-related outcomes.

Methods

A systematic literature review was performed. PubMed, Embase, and The Cochrane Library were searched. Studies were included when they reported on an intervention among employees in the meat processing industry and with outcomes related to work or health. Studies were assessed on risk of bias, and data were synthesized by type of intervention.

Results

A total of 13 articles reporting on two randomized controlled trials and nine non-randomized intervention studies were retrieved. Studies were categorized into three topics: ergonomics programs, skin protection, and Q fever vaccination. All studies had high risk of bias. Based on four studies, there was limited evidence for workplace health and safety programs showing reductions in musculoskeletal injury severity, reduction of lost work days, and reduction of costs and claims for several musculoskeletal disorders. There was limited evidence for added rest breaks resulting in improved productivity at the end of a workday and in reductions of perceived discomfort in various body regions at the end of the workday. One study on skin protection showed reductions of eczema prevalence, although evidence was moderate. Based on four studies, there was high-quality evidence for strong effectiveness of Q fever vaccination.

Conclusion

This review presents evidence for the effectiveness of a variety of workplace interventions. There was limited evidence for effectiveness of ergonomic interventions, moderate evidence of a skin protection intervention, and strong evidence for Q fever vaccination.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Truus van Ittersum for her contribution in the search procedure and Frank Jungbauer for his critical remarks on parts of the manuscript that focus on hand eczema and Q fever. This literature review was part of a larger project which was funded by ZonMw, Grant Number 208030005.

Conflict of interest

All authors declared that they have no competing interests.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Center for Rehabilitation, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Dilgtweg 5, 9751 ND, Haren, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Berry J. van Holland & Michiel F. Reneman

  2. Groningen Spine Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Remko Soer

  3. Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Remko Soer

  4. Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Institute for Health Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Michiel R. de Boer

  5. Department of Health Sciences, Community and Occupational Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Sandra Brouwer

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  1. Berry J. van Holland
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Correspondence to Berry J. van Holland.

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van Holland, B.J., Soer, R., de Boer, M.R. et al. Preventive occupational health interventions in the meat processing industry in upper-middle and high-income countries: a systematic review on their effectiveness. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 88, 389–402 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-014-0964-3

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