Are Back Injuries in Carpenters Decreasing or Not?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cameron B ; Dement, John M. ; Kucera K ; Lipscomb H ; Silverstein B
• Description:
  Introduction: In light of significant declines over 15 years in work-related back injuries from overexertion and more modest declines in acute traumatic injuries among a large cohort of union carpenters, we explored healthcare utilization for back problems through their private insurance coverage during the same time period. Methods: Data from workers' compensation (WC) records were linked on an individual basis with records of health care utilization through the union healthcare trust for a dynamic cohort of 18,768 carpenters from 1989-2003. Yearly utilization rates for back disorders, based on months of insurance eligibility, were calculated over the 15 years and compared to patterns of workers' compensation back injuries. Rates of private healthcare utilization were also calculated before and after a work injury adjusting for age and gender. Results: Sixty percent of the cohort did not seek medical care for back disorders through either WC or their healthcare trust; 10% sought care in both systems. WC claims for overexertion injuries were 62% lower in 2003 than in 1989 while healthcare utilization through the trust for back disorders increased 108%. Private healthcare utilization rates increased among carpenters with more WC injuries (1.3 for one work injury, 1.6 for two, 1.7 for three, 2.2 for four). Utilization patterns through the trust were slightly different for individuals following an acute traumatic work-related injury compared to those with overexertion injuries. Discussion: The patterns observed raise concern that some work-related care for back disorders could have shifted to the carpenters' healthcare trust, particularly in later years. In any event, the analyses demonstrate interplay across the two healthcare delivery systems in this working population with insurance coverage. Even with the robust data available, these issues are difficult to clearly understand. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Biomechanical Phenomena Construction Industry Ergonomics Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Surveys And Questionnaires Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Age-factors Back-injuries Biomechanics Construction Construction-workers Health-care Injuries Injury-prevention Medical-monitoring Medical-surveys Medical-treatment Musculoskeletal-system Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Occupational-hazards Quantitative-analysis Risk-factors Statistical-analysis Time-weighted-average-exposure Traumatic-injuries Work-practices Worker-health Workplace-studies

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• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  page 85
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20038392
• Citation:
  NOIRS 2008-Abstracts of the National Occupational Injury Research Symposium, October 21-23, 2008, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Morgantown, WV: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2008 Oct; :H1.2
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• NORA Priority Area:
  Disease and Injury: Musculoskeletal Disorders of the Upper Extremities
• Performing Organization:
  Duke University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20040601
• End Date:
  20081231
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:225429d409cb5db25ba5793db2f99280dc7576905ae50c07592f8fbdb6c5529d0b35dd5c69f3baa9d436b22b510a51f6eb60f460379998d4138ee702cc88ef38
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/192114/cdc_192114_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 724.08 KB ]