Determinants of Sick Leave Duration Following Occupational Injuries among Workers in the County of Gävleborg, Sweden

Abstract

Background: Occupational injuries continue to add to the global burden of injuries. Recent global estimates show that up 317 million workers were injured in accidents at work that resulted in absence from work of four days or more. Whereas sick leave is important for rehabilitation and recovery, the duration of sick leave and consequent return to work is of concern in order to prevent negative outcomes. There is therefore a need to examine factors associated with sick leave duration among injured workers for effective rehabilitation. This study aimed to investigate the determinants of leave sick duration following occupational injuries. Method: The Swedish National Working Environment Agency keeps a record of all cases of occupational injuries requiring at least one day sick leave day and reported to Swedish Social Welfare Security Agency. The present study is register based using data from a total of 5291 cases of occupational injuries that occurred in the county of Gavleborg, Sweden between 2007 and 2012. Result: Sick leave longer than two weeks was highest for the self-employed and temporary workers although injury frequency was low for both groups. Fall injuries and injuries involving slip, trip and snapping or breaking of an object were more likely to lead to sick leave longer than two weeks. Shorter sick duration was observed among injured workers in the health and manufacturing sectors. Conclusions: Possible reasons for the observed results and the need for individual based rehabilitation process for effective and more meaningful return to work are discussed.