Canadian Study Suggests Older Workers Seek More Medical Care After Injury

Sarasota, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) – With an aging workforce, employers have their work cut out in maintaining enough staff and keeping costs low. While some statistics have shown that older workers have fewer injuries, their injuries tend to be more severe creating most costs. The rehabilitation time and time to work are typically longer as well.  Additionally statistics show that older workers have higher rates of co-morbidities that are associated with higher disability payments and medical treatments. 

A recent Canadian study by researchers from the University of Manitoba examined the relationship between workplace injuries and subsequent healthcare use and found an increase in older adults. Around thirty-six percent of workers in Canada are over the age of 55, and that percentage is expected to increase to 40 percent by 2026.

The researchers used data from the Canadian Longitudinal Survey on Aging (CLSA), which is a long-term study that follows 50,000 adults aged 45 to 85 for 20 years. The CLSA collects the social, biological, medical, economical, and psychological changes of the participants as they age. 

Participants selected for the study were classed by injury type, work status, and hours worked. Additionally, participants were asked about their vision, psychological issues such as depression, memory, smoking habits, and their healthcare utilization. Questions on healthcare utilization included types of providers visited within the last 12 months, as well as visits to the emergency room and hospitalizations within the same period. 

Around 51.7 percent of participants in the CLSA were working at the time of their baseline questionnaire. The number of work-related injuries within a year of the survey was 361 per 10,000 with higher rates among the 45 to 54 age category than the 55 to 85 category.

The researchers found that workplace injuries were associated with significantly increased odds of emergency department visits, visits to physiotherapists, or occupational therapists, and chiropractors. While workplace injuries didn’t predict hospitalizations, night time work schedules, as well as lower education and income significantly increased the odds of overnight hospitalization. The researchers speculated that based on the results hospitalization was mainly driven by socio-economic factors, which is also be a factor in workplace injuries. 

While the researchers contended that a causal relationship between work-related injuries and subsequent healthcare use could not be concluded, the researchers speculated the results suggested that middle-aged and older workers experienced ongoing health problems that may be exacerbated following their injuries.

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