Acute Work-Related Injuries Among Older Adults in the USA on Medicare, 2016–2019: A National Longitudinal Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Alexander BH ; Kim H ; McFalls M ; Ramirez M ; Ryan, Andrew D. ; Virnig B
• Description:
  Objectives: Work-related injuries are only partially captured for older workers in the USA, likely due to low sensitivity of traditional data sources, such as workers' compensation, to capture non-fatal incidents. Using claims from Medicare, the primary health insurance of most US adults after age 65, we identified and described work-related injuries among Medicare enrollees aged 65 years and older. Methods: We identified injury claims from 2016 to 2019 Medicare inpatient and outpatient claims for aged 65+ Medicare fee-for-service enrollees. We then identified work-related injury claims using ICD-10-CM external cause codes and employment-related and workers' compensation codes used in Medicare claims processing. We calculated annual rates of work-related injuries among aged 65+ Medicare fee-for-service enrollees. We described demographics, injuries and their mechanisms, and healthcare encounter characteristics of Medicare enrollees with work-related injuries. Results: From 2016 to 2019, the average annual rate of work-related injuries was 27.6 per 100 000 Medicare fee-for-service enrollees aged 65+. Injury claims were most often for outpatient emergency department (ED) visits (58%), followed by non-ED outpatient visits (20%) and hospitalisations (19%). Falls, transportation and machinery-related mechanisms of injury each accounted for approximately 20% of injuries. Conclusions: Using the mechanism of injury, employment-related and workers' compensation codes, Medicare claims can be used to identify work-related injuries. Most work-related injuries appear in outpatient settings, although hospitalisations involve the most extensive care. Future research should validate and expand these methods, drawing on the depth of information in Medicare claims data to explore costs and health outcomes of work-related injuries in older populations. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Aging Demography Epidemiology Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident Statistics Age Groups Demographic Characteristics Health Care Injuries Longitudinal Study Occupational Accidents Surveillance
• ISSN:
  1353-8047
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Atlanta Region [OSHA] ; Birmingham Region [OSHA] ; California ; Chicago Region [OSHA] ; Florida ; Minnesota ; San Francisco Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070796
• Citation:
  Inj Prev 2025 Apr; :[Epub ahead of print]
• Contact Point Address:
  Matthew McFalls, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population and Public Health, University of California, Irvine, California
• Email:
  mmcfalls@uci.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Injury Prevention
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:56aed63dcc673cca37d57e5e60d8569648ce7c0ae5826192f9d69b47766a79038ab7c02c948a5a5e50c389eb6bb8c2abf2ae8ee42738ae7bcc6bf86367de1636
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208950/cdc_208950_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 422.27 KB ]