Strengthening the links between physical and psychosocial exposures with physical functinal capacities and perceived health in the construction industry

To address demanding working conditions, reducing job demands intensity and maintaining employees' capacities are crucial, especially in the construction industry. Understanding the associations between constraints encountered during the professional journey and employees' capacities could help anticipate the deterioration of these capacities and identify work situations considered at risk. A preliminary study (EL2014-012) was conducted in collaboration with the Inter-Company Occupational Health and Prevention Service in the Construction Industry in Lorraine. It highlighted associations between physical and psychosocial constraints encountered during the professional journey, physical functional capacities (PFC), and perceived health of employees. To ensure that these associations can serve as a reference for occupational health teams in the construction industry, it is necessary to verify their reproducibility at different timeframes of constraints.
The main objective of this study is to demonstrate the persistence of the previously obtained associations. The effects of different durations of exposure to constraints on i) PFC and perceived health and ii) their evolution over a period of 5 years will also be studied, as well as the associations between PFC and perceived health. This study will be conducted on the same population as the first study. Data collected will include physical and psychosocial constraints encountered since the first study, approximately 5 years ago, as well as PFC tests and health questionnaires. The expected results aim to increase knowledge about the links between exposure to physical and psychosocial constraints in the professional journeycareer, PFC, and perceived health. These results will particularly serve to reinforce the associations observed in the first study and verify their predictive nature, especially by studying the impact of constraints on the evolution of PFC and perceived health.
In practice, the aim will be to provide occupational health and prevention services in the construction industry with PFC tests and perceived health questionnaires to monitor the evolution of employees' health and identify work situations at risk of early health deterioration. The ultimate goal is to develop a better understanding knowledge of exposures and risky situations to prevent them through targeted primary prevention actions. Planned valorizations disseminations include publications for occupational health professionals and scientists. This knowledge will also be transferred through training programs.