Assessment of occupational injuries and illnesses in the United States territories.

摘要

The purpose of this study was to determine if the number of workplace injuries and illnesses vary by location. The focus of the study was the comparison of the three major economically developed Territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands to 43 (includes the District of Columbia) of the mainland United States. The study will enable business practitioners to better assess the allocation and disbursement of direct and indirect resources for risk management activities; thereby creating a workplace environment with a reduced risk of workplace injuries and illnesses. An ANOVA was used to test for the existence of a statistically significant difference by locations. As a follow up to the ANOVA, a Tukey Pairwise Comparison was used to determine which location pairs experienced a statistically significant difference. The results of the ANOVA indicated a statistically significant difference exists between workplace injuries and illnesses in the United States proper and the United States Territories. The results of the Tukey pairwise comparison revealed that a statistically significant difference exists in the number workplace injuries and illnesses experienced in the United States proper compared to the individual United States Territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The null hypotheses, H1o and H20, were rejected in favor of the alternative hypotheses. The results of the study provide business practitioners with the knowledge that a different workplace environment exists for operations in the United States Territories than in the United States proper; thus requiring business leaders to adjust direct and indirect resource investments for risk management and safety activities. The result of this research fills a gap in the literature with regard to workplace accidents in the United States Territories and SIDS by expanding the body of knowledge and providing avenues for future research.