Ron Saunders

The Relationship between Age and Work Injury in British Columbia: Examining Differences across Time and Nature of Injury.

The Relationship between Age and Work Injury in British Columbia: Examining Differences across Time and Nature of Injury: Peter SMITH, et al. Institute for Work and Health, Canada—

Individual, occupational, and workplace correlates of occupational health and safety vulnerability in a sample of Canadian workers.

Objective To describe OH&S vulnerability across a diverse sample of Canadian workers. Methods A survey was administered to 1,835 workers employed more than 15 hrs/week in workplaces with at least five employees. Adjusted logistic models were fitted for three specific and one overall measure of workplace vulnerability developed based on hazard exposure and access to protective OH&S policies and procedures, awareness of employment rights and responsibilities, and workplace empowerment. Results More than one third of the sample experienced some OH&S vulnerability. The type and magnitude of vulnerability varied by labor market sub‐group. Younger workers and those in smaller workplaces experienced significantly higher odds of multiple types of vulnerability. Temporary workers reported elevated odds of overall, awareness‐ and empowerment‐related vulnerability, while respondents born outside of Canada had significantly higher odds of awareness vulnerability. Conclusion Knowing how labor market sub‐groups experience different types of vulnerability can inform better‐tailored primary prevention interventions. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:119–128, 2016.

How much do preexisting chronic conditions contribute to age differences in health care expenditures after a work-related musculoskeletal injury?

Objectives:To estimate the contribution of preexisting chronic conditions on age differences in health care expenditures for the management of work-related musculoskeletal injuries in British Columbia. Methods:A secondary analysis of workers’ compensation claims submitted over the 5-year period between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2006 (N=55,827 claims among men and 32,141 claims among women). Path models examined the relationships between age and health care expenditures, and the extent to which age differences in health care expenditures were mediated by preexisting chronic conditions. Models were adjusted for individual, injury, occupational, and industrial covariates. Results:The relationship between age and health care expenditures differed for men and women, with a stronger age gradient observed among men. Preexisting osteoarthritis and coronary heart disease were associated with elevated health care expenditures among men and women. Diabetes was associated with elevated health care expenditures among men only, and depression was associated with elevated health care expenditures among women only. The percentage of the age effect on health care expenditures that was mediated through preexisting chronic conditions increased from 12.4% among 25–34-year-old men (compared with 15–24 y) to 26.6% among 55+-year-old men; and 14.6% among 25–34-year-old women to 35.9% among women 55 and older. Conclusions:The results of this study demonstrate that differences in preexisting chronic conditions have an impact on the relationship between older age and greater health care expenditures after a work-related musculoskeletal injury. The differing prevalence of preexisting osteoarthritis, coronary heart disease, and to a lesser extent diabetes (among men) and depression (among women) across age groups explain a nontrivial proportion of the age effect in health care expenditures after injury. However, approximately two thirds or more of the age effect in health care expenditures remains unexplained.

Protecting Construction Worker Health and Safety in Ontario, Canada: Identifying a Union Safety Effect.

Objectives: Do Ontario unionized construction firms have lower workers’ compensation claims rates compared with nonunion firms? Methods: Building trade and construction trade association lists of union contractors were linked to Workplace Safety and Insurance Board claims data for 2006 to 2012. Data were pooled for 2006 to 2012, and negative binomial regressions conducted with adjustment to estimate a union safety effect. Results: The sample included 5797 unionized and 38,626 nonunion construction firms. Total claims rates were 13% higher (1.13, 1.09 to 1.18) in unionized firms because of higher allowed no-lost-time claim rates (1.28, 1.23 to 1.34), whereas the lost-time claims rate was 14% lower (0.86, 0.82 to 0.91). Conclusions: Unionized construction firms compared with nonunion firms have higher no-lost-time and lower lost-time claims rates. Unionized firms may encourage occupational injury reporting and reduce risks through training and hazard identification and control strategies.

P215 Measuring occupational health and safety vulnerability: what can it add to our understanding of injury risk and primary prevention activities

Vulnerability is a commonly used, but not well defined, metric in the prevention system. This presentation will describe a recently developed measure to define OH&S vulnerability. In this presentation we will describe the development of a new measure of occupational health and safety (OH&S) vulnerability. The purpose of this measure was to allow the identification of workers at increased risk of injury, and to enable to monitoring and surveillance of OH&S vulnerability in the labour market. This measure conceives of OHS vulnerability as a combination of exposure to hazards in combination with the presence of one of three other dimensions that increase injury risk. These three other dimensions are: inadequate protection from workplace policies and practices, low worker awareness of OHS rights and responsibilities, and low worker empowerment to take part in making work safer. Using a sample of approximately 2,000 workers in Ontario and British Columbia we have demonstrated that although younger workers, temporary workers and workers in small businesses were vulnerable, they were vulnerable in different ways. Temporary workers were more likely to experience vulnerability in relation to hazards and lack of awareness or empowerment, while workers in small businesses were more likely to experience vulnerability related to workplace policies and procedures. In a second study, we have found the impacts of the different dimensions of vulnerability are super-additive (i.e. the impacts of the combination of dimensions of vulnerability is greater than their impact in isolation), on risk of injury and worrying about getting injured at work. Taken together, this new measure of vulnerability can be used to better understand how different workplace contexts place workers at increased risk of injury, thus informing primary prevention at the workplace and system levels.