scholarly journals Differences in Work Disability Duration for Immigrants and Canadian-Born Workers in British Columbia, Canada

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 11794
Author(s):  
Sonja Senthanar ◽  
Mieke Koehoorn ◽  
Lillian Tamburic ◽  
Stephanie Premji ◽  
Ute Bültmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Work Disability ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Disability Benefits ◽  
Severe Injuries ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Fracture Cohort ◽  
Compensation Claims ◽  
The Relationship

This study aimed to investigate differences in work disability duration among immigrants (categorized as economic, family member or refugee/other classification upon arrival to Canada) compared to Canadian-born workers with a work-related injury in British Columbia. Immigrants and Canadian-born workers were identified from linked immigration records with workers’ compensation claims for work-related back strain, connective tissue, concussion and fracture injuries requiring at least one paid day of work disability benefits between 2009 to 2015. Quantile regression investigated the relationship between immigration classification and predicted work disability days (defined from injury date to end of compensation claim, up to 365 days) and modeled at the 25th, 50th and 75th percentile of the distribution of the disability days. With a few exceptions, immigrants experienced greater predicted disability days compared to Canadian-born workers within the same injury cohort. The largest differences were observed for family and refugee/other immigrant classification workers, and, in particular, for women within these classifications, compared to Canadian-born workers. For example, at the 50th percentile of the distribution of disability days, we observed a difference of 34.1 days longer for refugee/other women in the concussion cohort and a difference of 27.5 days longer for family classification women in the fracture cohort. Economic immigrants had comparable disability days with Canadian-born workers, especially at the 25th and 50th percentiles of the distribution. Immigrant workers’ longer disability durations may be a result of more severe injuries or challenges navigating the workers’ compensation system with delays in seeking disability benefits and rehabilitation services. Differences by immigrant classification speak to vulnerabilities or inequities upon arrival in Canada that persist after entry to the workforce and warrant further investigation for early mitigation strategies.

scholarly journals Reciprocal associations between depression, anxiety and work-related injury

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 529-535
Author(s):  
Vaiva Gerasimaviciute ◽  
Ute Bültmann ◽  
Pamela M Diamond ◽  
Jessica M Tullar ◽  
George L Delclos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Medical Visits ◽  
Work Related Injury ◽  
Large Employer ◽  
Compensation Claims ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Reciprocal Associations ◽  
Administrative Datasets

ObjectiveTo examine the reciprocal longitudinal associations between depression or anxiety with work-related injury (WRI) at a large employer in the southwestern United States.MethodThree administrative datasets (2011–2013) were merged: employee eligibility, medical and prescription claims, and workers’ compensation claims. The sample contained 69 066 active employees. Depression and anxiety were defined as episodes of medical visits care (ie, claims) with corresponding ICD-9-CM codes. For an individual’s consecutive claims, a new case of depression or anxiety was defined if more than 8 weeks have passed since the prior episode. The presence of a workers’ compensation injury claim was used to identify WRI. Three-wave (health plan years 2011 or T1, 2012 or T2, and 2013 or T3) autoregressive cross-lagged models were used to estimate whether depression or anxiety predicted WRI, also if WRI predicted depression or anxiety in the following year(s).ResultsDepression predicted injury from T1 to T2 (β=0.127, p<0.001) and from T2 to T3 (β=0.092, p=0.001). Injury predicted depression from T1 to T3 (β=0.418, p<0.001). Effects of anxiety on WRI were small and inconsistent, from T1 to T2 (β=0.013, p=0.622) and from T2 to T3 (β=−0.043, p=0.031). T1 injury had a protective effect on T3 anxiety (β=−0.273, p<0.001).ConclusionsWe found evidence of reciprocal effects for depression with WRI after adjustment for prior injuries and depression. The evidence for the relationship between anxiety and WRI is less clear. WRI prevention and management programmes should incorporate depression prevention and management.

scholarly journals O2C.2 Does region of residence matter for return-to-work after work-related injury? A comparative analysis of six canadian workers’ compensation jurisdictions

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A16.1-A16
Author(s):  
Robert Macpherson ◽  
Hui Shen ◽  
Mieke Koehoorn ◽  
Benjamin Amick ◽  
Alex Collie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Return To Work ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Work Disability ◽  
Injured Workers ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Disability Benefits ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Injury ◽  
Urban Rural

ObjectivesTo investigate regional differences in return-to-work following work-related injury and whether these differences persist after adjusting for individual characteristics.MethodsWorkers’ compensation claims from six Canadian provinces were used to create comparable cohorts of workers aged 15–80 with a work-related injury resulting in at least one disability day from 2011 to 2015. Workers’ residential postal codes were mapped to Census standard geographic units to categorize workers into six regions representing decreasing urban density and metropolitan influence (ranging from large urban areas of 100,000+people to rural areas of <10 000 people with no metropolitan influence). Cox regression models were used to estimate the effect of urban-rural residence on the likelihood of injured workers transitioning off work disability benefits within one-year post-injury, adjusting for confounders, including provincial compensation jurisdiction. Models were stratified by industry sectors.ResultsThe cohort included 7 46 029 work disability claims, of which the majority resided in large urban areas (69%). Unadjusted models showed that workers residing in smaller urban and rural areas had a lower likelihood of transitioning off work disability benefits compared to those in large urban areas. Urban-rural differences persisted in adjusted models (e.g. HR=0.91 95% CI 0.89, 0.94 for workers in rural areas with no metropolitan influence). Industry-stratified models showed that greater differences existed between urban and rural places of residence for workers in the transportation and construction sectors, and smaller differences for workers in the health care and manufacturing sectors.ConclusionsThe main finding suggests that injured workers in more rural areas face barriers in returning to work and that workers’ compensation resources may need to be allocated to address these regional disparities. Future research will incorporate both individual and regional-level variables in a multilevel model framework to identify the characteristics that are the most important in explaining variability in work disability duration.

Rehabilitation and return to work

2019 ◽  
pp. 207-228
Author(s):  
Danny Wong
Keyword(s):  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Return To Work ◽  
Clinical Problem ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Disability Benefits ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Assessment Programme ◽  
Models Of Disability ◽  
Returning To Work ◽  
The Relationship

Rehabilitation and return to work is not a straightforward clinical problem of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. The chapter explores the concept of worklessness and its impact on life expectancy, what barriers there are in returning to work, why work is good for health, and the relationship between work and health. Common work-related health problems are explored along with disability benefits and most prominent health problems in this area. The chapter details the current UK government system of assessing fitness via the Employment and Support Allowance assessment programme. Models of disability are discussed, focusing on the biopsychosocial model and psychosocial flag system. Workplace management including current UK initiatives of the ‘fit note’ and ‘Fit for Work Scheme’ are further explored. Common workplace adjustments that may assist in a return to work are explored.

scholarly journals Characterising the Burden of Work-Related Injuries in South Australia: A 15-Year Data Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 2015
Author(s):  
Jianjun Xiang ◽  
Murthy Mittinty ◽  
Michael Xiaoliang Tong ◽  
Dino Pisaniello ◽  
Peng Bi
Keyword(s):  
Labour Force ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Young Male ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Severe Injuries ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Compensation Payment

To characterise the burden of work-related injuries in South Australia, workers’ compensation claim data were obtained from SafeWork South Australia between 2000 and 2014. Descriptive analyses were performed to investigate the burden of work-related injuries by age, gender, occupation, industry, and nature and mechanism of injury. Dunn’s test was used to compare the injury costs and working days lost by industry and occupation. Ordinary linear regression was used to investigate the age-injury cost association. A total of 464,139 workers’ compensation claims were reported during the 15-year period in South Australia, with an overall rate of 4.6 claims per 100 employees, resulting in a total of 20,861,001 working days lost and AU$14.9 billion dollars of compensation payment. Between 2000 to 2014, the annual claim rates, compensation payments, working days lost, and number of work-related death reduced by 59.3, 73.8, 87.1, and 78.6 percent, respectively, while the median compensation payment increased by 67.3% from AU$968 to AU$1620. A 1-year increase in age was associated with a 2.1% (Rate Ratio, RR = 1.021, 95% CI: 1.020–1.022) increase in compensation costs and a 1.3% (RR = 1.013, 95% CI: 1.012–1.020) increase in working days lost. Work-related injury rates are declining in most sectors, however some workers, especially young male technicians and labourers in the community services industry, remain at higher risk. Challenges for workers’ health and safety include the aging labour force, vehicle incidents, and severe injuries among new and foreign-born workers.

scholarly journals O2C.5 Increasing costs of occupational injuries in association with high ambient temperatures in adelaide, south australia, 2000–2014

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A17.2-A17
Author(s):  
Jianjun Xiang ◽  
Alana Hansen ◽  
Dino Pisaniello ◽  
Peng Bi
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Retail Trade ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Compensation Claims ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Compensation Costs

ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of ambient temperature on compensation costs due to work-related injuries, and to provide an evidence base about the economic benefits of developing workplace heat prevention strategies in a warming climate.MethodsWorkers’ compensation claims obtained from SafeWork South Australia for 2000–2014 were transformed into daily time series format and merged with meteorological data. The relationship between temperature and compensation costs were estimated using a generalized linear model after controlling for long-term trends, seasonality, and day of week. A piecewise linear spline function was used to account for non-linearity.ResultsA total of 4 64 139 workers’ compensation claims were reported during the 15 year period in South Australia, resulting in AU$14.9 billion dollars compensation payment. Overall, it is a reversed V-shaped temperature-cost association. A 1°C increase in maximum temperature was associated with a 1.1% (95% CI, 0.2%–2.0%) increase in daily injury compensation expenditure below 35.2°C. Specifically, significant increases of injury costs were observed in males (1.4%, 95% CI 0.3%–2.5%), young workers (3.0%, 95% CI 1.2%–4.9%), older workers≥65 years (2.4%, 95% CI 0.5%–4.4%), labourers (2.7%, 95% CI 0.5%–4.8%), machinery operators and drivers (3.5%, 95% CI 1.6%–5.3%) and the following industries: agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (12.3%, 95% CI 2.2%–23.3%); construction (7.8%, 95% CI 0.02%–16.3%); and wholesale and retail trade (2.4%, 95% CI 0.5%–4.4%). Costs for compensating occupational burns and ‘skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases’ increased by 3.1% (95% CI 1.2%–5.1%) and 2.7% (95% CI 0.1%–5.4%) respectively, with a 1°C increase in maximum temperature.ConclusionThere is a significant association between temperature and work-related injury compensation costs in Adelaide, South Australia for certain subgroups. Heat attributable workers’ compensation costs may increase with the predicted rising temperature.

scholarly journals Collider bias in administrative workers’ compensation claims data: A challenge for cross-jurisdictional research

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler J Lane
Keyword(s):  
Work Disability ◽  
Claims Data ◽  
Occupational Injuries ◽  
Simulated Data ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Compensation Systems ◽  
Compensation Claims ◽  
Analytical Approaches ◽  
Collider Bias ◽  
State Territory

Abstract Purpose Workers’ compensation claims consist of occupational injuries severe enough to meet a compensability threshold. Theoretically, systems with higher thresholds should have fewer claims but greater average severity. For research that relies on claims data, particularly cross-jurisdictional comparisons of compensation systems, this results in collider bias that can lead to spurious associations and confound analyses. In this study, I use real and simulated claims data to demonstrate collider bias and problems with methods used to account for it. Methods Using Australian claims data, I used a linear regression to test the association between claim rate and mean disability durations across Statistical Areas. Analyses were repeated with nesting by state/territory to account for variations in compensability thresholds across compensation systems. Both analyses are repeated on left-censored data. Simulated claims data are analysed with Cox survival analyses to illustrate how left-censoring can reverse effects.Results The claim rate within a Statistical Area was inversely associated with disability duration. However, this reversed when Statistical Areas were nested by state/territory. Left-censoring resulted in an attenuation of the unnested association to non-significance, while the nested association remained significantly positive. Cox regressions on simulated data showed left-censoring can also reverse effects. Conclusions Collider bias can seriously confound work disability research, particularly cross-jurisdictional comparisons. Work disability researchers must grapple with this challenge by using appropriate study designs and analytical approaches, and considering how collider bias affects interpretation of results.

Literature Review

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-8
Author(s):  
James B. Talmage
Keyword(s):  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Injured Worker ◽  
Disability Benefits ◽  
Fourth Edition ◽  
Permanent Disability ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Injury ◽  
Whole Person ◽  
Compensation Law

Abstract Evaluating physicians should understand how their impairment evaluations are used, and to these ends Section 1.5 of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Fourth Edition, discusses impairment and workers’ compensation. Permanent disability rewards may be paid according to a schedule that associates impairments of certain body parts, functions, or systems (eg, amputation or loss of sight or hearing) with specific awards. Typically, a schedule in the workers’ compensation law equates disability and a maximum number of weeks of benefits, but what occurs when an injured worker has both scheduled and unscheduled injuries? Under Colorado statute, scheduled injuries involve those to the neck, head, torso, and any injury not specifically enumerated in the statutory schedule. Because schedules usually do not cover all conditions following injuries, nonscheduled awards are available and are based on the extent of impairment, the nature of the injury, and the employee's occupation, experience, training, and age. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that when a work-related injury results in both a scheduled and a nonscheduled injury, the scheduled injury must be converted to a whole person impairment rating and combined with the nonscheduled injury's whole person impairment when calculating permanent disability benefits. In its decision, the court relied heavily on and cited provisions in the AMA Guides.

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