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Social and economic consequences of workplace injury: A population‐based study of workers in British Columbia, Canada
Author(s) -
Brown Judy A.,
Shan Harry S.,
Mustard Cameron A.,
McDonough Peggy
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.20503
Subject(s) - medicine , occupational safety and health , logistic regression , marital status , injury prevention , human factors and ergonomics , population , demography , poison control , suicide prevention , gerontology , environmental health , workers' compensation , occupational injury , occupational medicine , compensation (psychology) , occupational exposure , psychology , social psychology , pathology , sociology
Background Existing research suggests that workplace injuries can have significant economic and social consequences for workers; but there are no quantitative studies on complete populations. Methods The British Columbia Linked Health Database (BCLHD) was used to examine 1994 injured workers who lost work time due to the injury (LT) and a group of injured individuals who did not lose time after their injuries (NLT). Three outcomes were explored: (1) residential change, (2) marital instability, and (3) social assistance use. Logistic regression adjusted for several individual and injury characteristics. Results LTs were more likely to move and collect income assistance benefits, and less likely to experience a relationship break‐up than the NLTs. LTs off work for 12 or more weeks were more likely to receive income assistance than LTs off for less time. Conclusions The increased risk suggests that the long‐term economic consequences of disabling work injury may not be fully mitigated by workers compensation benefits. Am. J. Ind. Med. 50:633–645, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.