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Barriers to documenting occupational injuries among personal assistance services workers
Author(s) -
Scherzer Teresa,
Newcomer Robert
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.20473
Subject(s) - medicine , occupational safety and health , environmental health , occupational medicine , human factors and ergonomics , occupational exposure , workers' compensation , injury prevention , personal protective equipment , suicide prevention , poison control , medical emergency , pathology , covid-19 , psychology , compensation (psychology) , psychoanalysis , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background Personal Assistance Services (PAS) workers provide essential support to disabled and elderly individuals living at home rather than institutions. Occupational injury risks are known, but limitations in occupational injury surveillance prevent assessing injury prevalence. Changing employment arrangements adopted by publicly funded programs may complicate the classification of PAS workers. Methods We surveyed state workers' compensation agencies and Financial Management Services organizations used by state Medicaid programs. Results Changing employment arrangements pose further barriers to classifying and documenting injury, and accessing workers' compensation coverage. Workers' Compensation coverage varies according to employment arrangements of the PAS workers. Financial Management Services organizations vary in their roles for reporting injury. Most frequent activities were providing written information about injury reporting, and reporting injuries to appropriate agencies or insurance companies. Conclusions Current limitations undercount the prevalence and consequences of PAS‐related occupational injuries among agency workers and largely ignore independent providers. Policy and research recommendations are presented. Am. J. Ind. Med. 50:536–544, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.