Table 2.
Frequency of work activities experienced during an average day, by occupation.
| Exposure Frequencya | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total responses | Never/rarely | About Half | Almost always | |||||
| Work Activities | Vet, n | Vet tech, n | Vet n (%) |
Vet tech n (%) |
Vet n (%) |
Vet tech n (%) |
Vet n (%) |
Vet tech n (%) |
| Awkward or tiring positions | 55 | 38 | 10 (18) | 1 (3) | 33 (60) | 24 (63) | 12 (22) | 13 (34) |
| Awkward grip or hand movements* | 56 | 38 | 15 (27) | 3 (8) | 32 (57) | 23 (61) | 9 (16) | 12 (32) |
| Boring work | 56 | 38 | 38 (68) | 18 (47) | 17 (30) | 20 (53) | 1 (2) | 0 (0) |
| Carrying out repetitive tasks | 56 | 37 | 10 (18) | 2 (5) | 37 (66) | 24 (65) | 9 (16) | 11 (30) |
| Computer work | 56 | 38 | 6 (11) | 3 (8) | 39 (70) | 23 (61) | 11 (20) | 12 (32) |
| Exposure to loud noise*** | 56 | 38 | 28 (50) | 9 (24) | 24 (43) | 14 (37) | 4 (7) | 15 (39) |
| Lifting*** | 56 | 38 | 5 (9) | 0 (0) | 43 (77) | 11 (29) | 8 (14) | 27 (71) |
| Standing** | 56 | 38 | 2 (4) | 0 (0) | 24 (43) | 5 (13) | 30 (54) | 33 (87) |
| Sitting | 56 | 38 | 11 (20) | 11 (29) | 42 (75) | 21 (55) | 3 (5) | 6 (16) |
| Using tools that vibrate | 56 | 37 | 35 (63) | 18 (49) | 21 (38) | 17 (46) | 0 (0) | 2 (5) |
| Working in cold/damp environments | 56 | 38 | 44 (79) | 28 (74) | 10 (18) | 9 (24) | 2 (4) | 1 (3) |
| Working at high speed** | 56 | 38 | 18 (32) | 2 (5) | 24 (43) | 15 (39) | 14 (25) | 21 (55) |
| Working in hot/warm environments | 56 | 38 | 29 (52) | 19 (50) | 21 (38) | 13 (34) | 6 (11) | 6 (16) |
| Working outside | 56 | 38 | 45 (80) | 33 (87) | 7 (13) | 5 (13) | 4 (7) | 0 (0) |
| Working to tight deadlines | 54 | 36 | 13 (24) | 11 (31) | 24 (44) | 16 (44) | 17 (31) | 9 (25) |
Note:
*
p<0.05,
**
p<0.01,
***
p<0.001, indicate significant differences between veterinarians and veterinary technicians based on Chi-Square test
a
Self-reported on questionnaire in response to the question stem: During an average day, what fraction of your work involves the following activities?