Characterising the Burden of Work-Related Injuries in South Australia: A 15-Year Data Analysis.

Jianjun Xiang,Dino Pisaniello,Murthy Mittinty,Michael Xiaoliang Tong,Peng Bi

doi:10.3390/ijerph17062015

Abstract

To characterise the burden of work-related injuries in South Australia, workers’ compensation claim data were obtained from SafeWork South Australia between 2000 and 2014. Descriptive analyses were performed to investigate the burden of work-related injuries by age, gender, occupation, industry, and nature and mechanism of injury. Dunn’s test was used to compare the injury costs and working days lost by industry and occupation. Ordinary linear regression was used to investigate the age-injury cost association. A total of 464,139 workers’ compensation claims were reported during the 15-year period in South Australia, with an overall rate of 4.6 claims per 100 employees, resulting in a total of 20,861,001 working days lost and AU$14.9 billion dollars of compensation payment. Between 2000 to 2014, the annual claim rates, compensation payments, working days lost, and number of work-related death reduced by 59.3, 73.8, 87.1, and 78.6 percent, respectively, while the median compensation payment increased by 67.3% from AU$968 to AU$1620. A 1-year increase in age was associated with a 2.1% (Rate Ratio, RR = 1.021, 95% CI: 1.020–1.022) increase in compensation costs and a 1.3% (RR = 1.013, 95% CI: 1.012–1.020) increase in working days lost. Work-related injury rates are declining in most sectors, however some workers, especially young male technicians and labourers in the community services industry, remain at higher risk. Challenges for workers’ health and safety include the aging labour force, vehicle incidents, and severe injuries among new and foreign-born workers.

Highlights

Occupational diseases and injuries are a major public health issue, contributing to about 2–14% of the global burden of disease [1]
There was an overall claim rate of 4.6 per 100 employees, resulting in a total time lost of 20,861,003 working days in 2000–2014 and Australian dollar (AU$)14.9 billion dollars in compensation payments
Consistent with previous literature, we found that workers in small businesses were more likely to sustain severe and fatal injuries due to the unavailability of quality occupational health services and facilities [30], compared with large-medium businesses

Summary

Introduction

Occupational diseases and injuries are a major public health issue, contributing to about 2–14% of the global burden of disease [1]. These cause suffering and hardship for the affected workers and their families, and exert substantial pressure on employers and the broader community through lost productivity and increased use of already overloaded healthcare services [2]. The burden was shared by employers, workers, and the community, the majority (74%) of the cost was borne by injured workers [3]. Workers’ compensation claims are widely used as a proxy for monitoring occupational injuries and accidents in Australia, Int. J. Public Health 2020, 17, 2015; doi:10.3390/ijerph17062015 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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