Construction Workers’ Long Term Health Impacts among Different Trades

Construction companies often track the number of injuries and fatalities, and sometimes near-misses, to quantify and assess project safety performance. The majority of current research studies and new construction projects place an emphasis on onsite safety controls (e.g., hazard prediction and incident prevention). Meanwhile, the long-term health impacts due to construction workers’ unsafe behaviors and the surrounding working environments are rarely mentioned. Many construction workers suffer from physical pains and other types of illnesses after retirement due to thoughtless and careless behaviors while working. In this paper, the authors aim to analyze the factors that impact construction workers’ long-term health based on a systematic review of published research in the areas of both construction and medical science. A list of unsafe construction risk factors that influence workers’ long-term health is identified. The authors also analyzed data from publicly-accessible databases to identify the predominant construction trades that are commonly exposed to the risk factors of long-term diseases. Findings from the study provide solid evidence of the causes and results of construction workers’ long term health, and highlight recommendations for the workers to behave safely while working.