AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE 45:210–217 (2004) Effectiveness of the HomeSafe Pilot Program in Reducing Injury Rates Among Residential Construction Workers, 1994–1998 Amy Rowntree Darragh, PhD, OTR, 1 Lorann Stallones, PhD, 2 Phillip L. Bigelow, PhD, 3 and Thomas J. Keefe, PhD 3 Background The construction industry typically has one of the highest fatal and non-fatal injury rates compared with other industries. Residential construction workers are at particular risk of injury (work is in remote sites with small crews, there are often many subcontractors, and they have limited access to safety programs). Difficulty accessing information specific to this group has made research more challenging, therefore, there are few studies. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the HomeSafe Pilot Program, a safety education and training program designed to reduce injuries among residential construc- tion workers. Methods Researchers evaluated whether overall and severe injury incidence rates de- clined during the intervention period. Data were analyzed using incidence rates and Poisson regression to control for the effect of antecedent secular trend. Results Injury incidence rates declined significantly following HomeSafe; however, this effect was not statistically significant once temporal variation was controlled. Conclusions The decline in injury rates following HomeSafe cannot be attributed solely to HomeSafe, however, programmatic and methodologic limitations contributed to the inconclusive results. Further research into the hazards faced by residential construction workers is needed. Am. J. Ind. Med. 45:210 – 217, 2004. ß 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. KEY WORDS: residential construction; occupational safety; injury prevention; program evaluation INTRODUCTION Occupational injury is a major threat to public health. The construction industry typically has one of the highest fatal and non-fatal injury rates compared with other in- dustries, and in 1994 it had the third highest fatality rate by major industrial category at 15 per 100,000 full time workers [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1995a]. The non-fatal injury rate for the same year was 11.5 per 100 full time workers, ranging from 9.5 (water well drilling) to 17.2 (roofing, siding, and sheet metal work) per 100 full time workers. These rates include both commercial and residential construction work- ers involved in all trades. Rates for residential construction workers in particular are more difficult to access. The Bureau ß 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. 1 Graduate Program in Occupational Therapy, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Connecti- cut 06432 2 Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523 3 Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523 From a thesis byA.R.D. submitted to the academic faculty of Colorado State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Contract grant sponsor: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); Contract grant number: 1R01CCR814123-01; Contract grant sponsor: US Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). *Correspondence to: Amy Rowntree Darragh, Assistant Professor, Graduate Program in Occupational Therapy, Sacred Heart University, 5151Park Avenue, Fairfield, CT 06432. E-mail: darragha@sacredheart.edu Accepted 4 September 2003 DOI10.1002/ajim.10339. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com)