Backs! 2005 campaign - Final report

Summary - The final report on HSE's Backs ! 2005 campaign is now available. The report gives full details of the inspection, media, and stakeholder elements of the campaign, and of its wide-ranging impact.

• Read the Backs 2005! final report [PDF 500kb]

Backs!2005 - Executive summary, September 2006

• Final report executive summary [93kb]

Stakeholder signup

• Find out who signed up to the Backs! 2005 initiative and what they had to say
• National stakeholder information supplied for use in support of Backs! 2005

Back pain and injury at work

The HSE ran a major national initiative in the summer of 2005 focussed on reducing the incidence of back pain at work. Currently manual handling is a major cause of back injury. One in five of those who suffer work-related ill health has back pain - bad both for people and for business. The overall aim of the Backs! 2005 initiative was to promote the use of lifting and handling aids as a means of reducing the incidence of back injuries at work.

The main phase of the Backs! 2005 campaign involved a nationally co-ordinated publicity, education and inspection programme over a 4 week period in June/July 2005. The programme was developed in partnership with Local Authorities and other stakeholders to help encourage innovative solutions to musculo-skeletal disorder (MSD) issues.

Employers and employees can find out more information on this initiative in Back Pain and Injury at Work [136kb]

As part of the campaign HSE Inspectors and Local Authority Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) gathered detailed information on MSDs and incidence of back pain in the workplace, from employers and employees. HSE Inspectors and EHOs completed a two part Inspection Report Form (IRF) during each site visit and a copy, of part two of this form, was left with both the employer and employee representatives. To get an idea of the information to be gathered during site visits a copy of part two of a blank IRF can be downloaded here.