The impact of workplace factors on filing of workers' compensation claims among nursing home workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gore R ; Kurowski A ; Punnett, Laura ; Qin J
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: Injuries reported to workers' compensation (WC) system are often used to estimate incidence of health outcomes and evaluate interventions in musculoskeletal epidemiology studies. However, WC claims represent a relatively small subset of all musculoskeletal disorders among employed individuals, and perhaps not a representative subset. This study determined the influence of workplace and individual factors on filing of workers' compensation claims by nursing home employees with back pain. METHODS: Surveys were conducted in 18 skilled nursing facilities in four U.S. states. Self-administered questionnaires obtained information on demographic characteristics, working environment, and health behaviors/status. Employees who reported low back pain at least once in four questionnaire surveys were included. WC claims from the same facilities were obtained from the employer's workers compensation insurer and matched by employee name. The dichotomous dependent variable was filing of back-related worker's compensation claim. Association with predictors of interest, including pain severity, physical job demand, job strain, social support, schedule control, and safety climate, was assessed using multivariate regression modeling. Individual characteristics were tested as potential confounders. RESULTS: Pain severity level was significantly associated with filing low-back related claims (odds ratio (OR) = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.18 - 1.87). Higher physical demands at work (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.01 - 1.14) also increased the likelihood of claim filing. Higher job strain (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.73 - 0.94), social support at work (OR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.82 - 0.99), and education (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.71 - 0.89) decreased the likelihood of claim filing. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the WC system captured the most severe occupational injuries. Workplace factors had additional influence on workers' decision to file claims, after adjusting for low back pain severity. Education was correlated with worker's socioeconomic status; its influence on claim filing is difficult to interpret because of the possible mixed effects of working conditions, self-efficacy, and content knowledge. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Behavior Epidemiology Health Personnel Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety Stress, Psychological Workplace
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Workers' Compensation Back Injuries Back Pain Health Care Personnel Healthcare Worker Job Stress Musculoskeletal System Disorders Nurses Pain Tolerance Sociological Factors Total Worker Health Under-reporting Work Environment

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• ISSN:
  1471-2474
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  29
• Volume:
  15
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045189
• Citation:
  BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2014 Jan; 15:29
• Contact Point Address:
  Laura Punnett, Department of Work Environment, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
• Email:
  Laura_Punnett@uml.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Performing Organization:
  University of Massachusetts, Lowell
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20060701
• Source Full Name:
  BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
• End Date:
  20210831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5eb4611a3bcd0fc17d47ae86cb4b098211445da87f58db05cf80546045f79a2572b791ff05ff13aef9e139f7c2b574c6542cbfe30a2b1581f893c6810dd7d117
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200702/cdc_200702_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 241.00 KB ]