American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 154, No. 5 : 410-417
Copyright © 2001 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS |
Homicide on the Job: Workplace and Community Determinants
1 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.
2 University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center, Chapel Hill, NC.
3 Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.
4 Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Department of Pathology, University of North Carolina and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Chapel Hill, NC.
Homicide is the second leading cause of death on the job for workers in the United States. To identify workplace-level predictors of homicide risk, a case-control study of worker killings in North Carolina in 1994–1998 was conducted. Workplaces were the units of analysis: case workplaces (n = 105) were those where a worker was killed during the study period, while controls (n = 210) were a density sample of North Carolina workplaces, matched on time and industry sector. Potential risk and protective factors were assessed in telephone interviews with workplace managers. Associations were measured by the exposure odds ratio and 95% confidence interval, estimated via conditional logistic regression. Characteristics associated with notably higher risk included being at the current location for 2 years or less (odds ratio (OR) = 5.3, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.2, 12.6), having only one worker (OR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.2, 7.2), and having night (OR = 4.9, 95% CI: 2.7, 8.8) or Saturday (OR = 4.2, 95% CI: 1.9, 9.2) hours. Workplaces with only male employees (OR = 3.1, 95% CI: 1.5, 6.5) or with African-American or Asian employees were also more likely to experience a killing. While few of the preceding risk factors are directly modifiable through workplace interventions, it is important to identify them before developing or evaluating preventive measures.
homicide; occupational exposure; occupational health; violence; work
Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; CI confidence interval
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