Database of mental stresses

Status:

completed 09/2008

Aims:

The accident insurance institutions have been recording data on mental and psychosocial stresses in plants for many years. Mental stresses and other stress factors interact with other workplace exposures. Assessment encompassing multiple forms of stress and exposure is therefore absolutely essential for the definition of effective prevention measures. It therefore appeared advantageous to document mental stresses within the BGIA Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's database system for hazardous substances, noise, vibration and spinal stresses. This measure was to improve further the capacity of the accident insurance institutions to provide information on the subject of mental stresses at work.

Activities/Methods:

Following completion of a prototype database of mental stresses, the conference of prevention managers decided in the spring of 2007 that the BGAG Institute Work and Health and the BGIA would set up a database of mental stresses to supplement the exposure databases already in existence at the BGIA. The development was supervised by a working group of interested accident insurance institutions. The database is to record and evaluate data based upon a range of different measurement methods. The supervising working group drew up criteria for the inclusion of measurement methods. The corresponding quality parameters for the adopted measurement methods were entered into the system. The database was supplemented by development of a data recording program which presents the content of the questionnaires. As an alternative, it was to be possible for data to be entered into the database from other forms of documentation (electronic and hard copy) via an interface.

Results:

Up to now, the BGIA's databases have contained exposure data on hazardous substances, biological substances, noise, vibration and musculoskeletal stresses. With the addition of mental and psychosocial stresses to them, they can now also be used to record and present combined stresses involving mental stresses. The software and the database are designed such that in principle, any desired method for the measurement of mental and psychosocial stress and strain can be presented. The following methods, which have already been used at the accident insurance institutions, have been included in the system in the first instance: "Staff survey in microbusinesses and small businesses in the construction materials trade" (KKU), "Self-check for automotive businesses", "Description of behaviour for management personnel" (FVVB). The system is available for use by the accident insurance institutions.

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