Worker populations at risk for work-related injuries across the life course (original) (raw)
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Injury epidemiology, 2018
Age may affect one's susceptibility to the myriad physical hazards that may pose risks for work-related injuries. Aging workers are not only at risk for work-related injuries but, also, at even higher risk for more severe health and work-related consequences. However, limited longitudinal research efforts have focused on such injuries among the aging workforce. This study aimed to investigate the association between physical work-related factors and injuries among United States (U.S.) workers, and then compare the injured and uninjured workers with regard to consequences including, functional limitations, and reduced working hours post injury. A cohort of 7212 U.S. workers aged 50 years and above from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study were retrospectively followed from 2004 to 2014. Data on exposures were lagged by one survey wave prior to the outcome of work-related injuries and consequences, respectively. Crude and adjusted incident rate ratios, and hazard ratios were estim...
Workplace injuries and workforce trends
2001
Some jobs carry a greater risk of injury than others. If a job involves heavy manual labour then a greater risk of injury may be associated with it when compared with, say, a sedentary office job. The risk of workplace injury is clearly related to the job. However, previous research into the incidence of workplace injuries has also shown that some individuals appear to be more likely than others to suffer a workplace injury. This study is an attempt to unravel this puzzle using a statistical technique that can identify the risk of workplace injury associated with the affects of specific personal characteristics from those which relate to the nature of the job. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published the main messages from the research report on the internet (www.hse.gov.uk/keyart.pdf). This report and the work it describes were funded by HSE. Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy. HSE BOOKS
Injuries at Work in the US Adult Population: Contributions to the Total Injury Burden
American Journal of Public Health, 2005
RESEARCH AND PRACTICE Objectives. We estimated the contribution of nonfatal work-related injuries on the injury burden among working-age adults (aged 18-64 years) in the United States. Methods. We used the 1997-1999 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to estimate injury rates and proportions of work-related vs non-work-related injuries. Results. An estimated 19.4 million medically treated injuries occurred annually to working-age adults (11.7 episodes per 100 persons; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 11.3, 12.1); 29%, or 5.5 million (4.5 per 100 persons; 95% CI = 4.2, 4.7), occurred at work and varied by gender, age, and race/ethnicity. Among employed persons, 38% of injuries occurred at work, and among employed men aged 55-64 years, 49% of injuries occurred at work. Conclusions. Injuries at work comprise a substantial part of the injury burden, accounting for nearly half of all injuries in some age groups. The NHIS provides an important source of population-based data with which to determine the work relatedness of injuries. Study estimates of days away from work after injury were 1.8 times higher than the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) workplace-based estimates and 1.4 times as high as BLS estimates for private industry. The prominence of occupational injuries among injuries to working-age adults reinforces the need to examine workplace conditions in efforts to reduce the societal impact of injuries.
The effect of demographic factors on occupational injuries
International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 2016
Objectives. In Finland about 120 000 occupational injuries occur annually, the cost of which is over EUR two billion per year. This is why it is reasonable to analyze the effect of demographic factors like gender, age, tenure and mother tongue on the occupational injuries. Methods. The participants consisted of 1681 employees from four Finnish companies, who reported their injuries from the last three years. Results. Gender or mother tongue did not associate with injury involvement. Employees under 25 years of age were more often involved in injuries than employees aged over 55 (OR = 2.69, 95% CI [1.70, 4.23]). Employees with 2-10 years of experience in the company had a higher injury frequency than both novice and very experienced employees (OR = 2.01, 95% CI [1.60, 2.52]). Conclusions. This study showed that age was a more important factor in injury involvement than gender, tenure or mother tongue. However, age was closely related to experience in the company. Thus prevention measures in the companies should focused on novice employees.
Relationship between job, lifestyle, age and occupational injuries
Occupational Medicine, 2009
Background Physical job demands (PJD), age, disability and lifestyle may influence the risk of occupational injury. Aim To assess the relationships between PJD, lifestyle and injury in workers of various ages. Methods A total of 2888 randomly selected workers from northeastern France, aged ‡15, completed a postal questionnaire. The PJD score was defined as the total number of the following reported job demands: using pneumatic tools, other vibrating hand tools, hammers, machine tools or vibrating platforms and exposure to manual handling tasks, awkward postures, high pace of work, high physical workload, work at heights, work in adverse climates or exposure to noise, cold or heat. Data were analysed using logistic regression. Results Nine per cent of subjects reported an injury during the previous 2 years. The PJD score was related to the injury rate for workers aged ‡45: crude odds ratio (OR) 3.5 (95% confidence interval 5 1.5-8.0) for PJD 5 1, 5.0 (2.2-11.3) for PJD 5 2-3 and 14.5 (6.5-32.2) for PJD ‡4, versus PJD 5 0. Lower ORs were found for those aged <30 (1.4, 4.2 and 9.9, respectively) and 30-44 (1.5, 4.4 and 6.5, respectively). The differences between age groups remained when controlling for all factors studied. Obesity, smoking and musculoskeletal disorders were associated with injury risk in workers aged ‡45 (adjusted ORs 1.7-2.6). Smoking was also an injury risk factor for workers aged <30. Conclusions PJD and lifestyle have a higher impact on injury rates among older workers than among younger ones. Injury prevention should address reducing PJD and improving relevant lifestyle factors, especially for older workers.
Nonfatal Occupational Injuries to Younger Workers — United States, 2012–2018
MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2020
Injuries and Illnesses (SOII). † During the 7-year period, an estimated 3.2 million (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.6-3.7) nonfatal, job-related injuries to young workers were treated in hospital emergency departments (EDs). From 2012 to 2018, annual rates of work-related injuries § treated in the ED (ED-treated injuries) declined overall across all age groups but ranged from 1.2 to 2.3 times higher for workers aged 15-24 years compared with those for adults aged 25-44 years. Workers aged 18-19 years had the highest rate of ED-treated injuries. In 2018, among all age groups, workers in service occupations ¶ had the highest percentage of injuries requiring at least 1 day away from work. Among workers aged 15-17 years, those in the leisure and hospitality industry had the highest percentage of work-related injuries requiring at least 1 day away from work. Occupational injuries can have long-term impacts on health (4). The disproportionate risk of injury among young workers highlights the need for sustained, targeted public health efforts to prepare this population with essential workplace safety and health competencies before they enter the workforce and to provide high-quality safety training and close supervision on the job. NIOSH and its partners developed a free curriculum to teach adolescents workplace safety and health competencies, which includes identification of workplace hazards and methods for addressing them, how to understand their rights and responsibilities as workers, and how to voice concerns about work safety issues (5).
Diversity of trends in occupational injury mortality in the United States, 1980-96
Injury Prevention, 2003
Objectives: Although the United States has generally enjoyed declining rates of fatal occupational injury, the rate of decline has not been uniform. To examine the heterogeneity of trends, changes in fatal occupational injury rates from 1980 to 1996 were estimated by occupation, industry, geographic region, and demographic group. Methods: Deaths due to injury at work during 1980-96 were identified from the US National Traumatic Occupational Fatality database and populations at risk were estimated from the census of population. Mortality rates were computed for unintentional injuries, homicides, and all injuries combined. The annual rate of change was estimated using Poisson regression to model the death rate as a function of time. Results: The estimated average rates for all fatal occupational injuries and for unintentional injuries declined by 3% per year, while the estimated rate of homicide declined <1% per year. The improvement was faster for men (3% per year) than for women (<1% per year) and for younger relative to older workers (7% per year v 2%-3% per year). Trends were also geographically heterogeneous, with the most rapid declines (7%-8% per year) in the South and West. Injury rates for most occupations and industries declined at near the average rate, but some experienced no change or an increase. The rate of homicide also increased in a number of occupations and industries. Conclusions: Broad downward trends in occupational fatality rates may be explained by several factors, including organized safety efforts, product and process changes, and the ongoing shift of employment toward safer sectors. Disparities in fatal injury trends draw attention to potential opportunities to reduce risk: work settings with increasing injury rates are of particular concern.
2011
636,000 Australians injured themselves in a work-related injury in the period 2009-2010. Of these injured Australians, 88% continued to work in their same place, 5.2% had to change thei r j obs, and 6.9% were n o l onger em pl oy ed. Men con ti nue to be the m ost i nj ured individuals in workplace injuries (56%) with the highest rates of injury in the 45-49 years (72 per 1000 people) and 20-24 years (63 per 1000 people) age groups. Furthermore, 59% of these 636,000 Australians injured in workplace injuries received financial assistance from workers compensation claims, 36% did not apply for financial assistance and 5% applied but did not receive any financial assistance. The most common types of workplace injuries incurred were: sprains and strains (30%), chronic joint/muscle conditions (18%) and cuts/open wounds (16%) (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010). The total economic cost from workplace injuries in Australia for the 2005-06 financial year was estimated at $57.5 billion, representing 5.9% of GDP for the financial year (Australian Safety and Compensation Council, 2009). Workplace injuries also incur immeasurable personal costs to Australian workers and their families. Individual lives are altered, even lost; individual hopes and dreams of a better life are shattered. Family roles, responsibilities and relationships become strained due to changes in income earnings and the imposed challenging needs for increased social support and increased caring needs within the home due to workplace injury. Why do Australian workers get injured in their workplaces? Is it due to their individual worker factors, or is it due to social factors associated with their work and workplace? While individual worker factors, such as: gender, age, personality, ethnicity, and substance use, do contribute to workplace injuries and fatalities, broader social and organizational workplace factors, such as: workload, work hours, work environment, safety culture, provision of quality supervision, and provision of occupational health and safety training, socially structure, and influence individual worker attitudes and behaviours in workplace injury and fatalities.
Older Workers Face More Serious Consequences from Workplace Injuries
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2004
Comparing the outcomes of workplace injuries in three states-California, Washington, and Wisconsin-suggests that older workers are more likely than their younger counterparts to have permanent disabilities as a result of those injuries. This is true even though older workers have fewer workplace accidents. In addition, older workers suffer larger wage losses over the first few years after injury, they have lower replacement rates from workers' compensation benefits, and they experience more injury-related days of non-employment.