Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Mar;54(3):318-27.
doi: 10.1097/JOM.0b013e31823fdf9d.

The impact of aging on work disability and return to work: insights from workers' compensation claim records

Janneke Berecki-Gisolf  1 , Fiona J Clay, Alex Collie, Roderick J McClure
Affiliations

The impact of aging on work disability and return to work: insights from workers' compensation claim records

Janneke Berecki-Gisolf et al. J Occup Environ Med. 2012 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the impact of an aging workforce on (1) the incidence of work-related injury or disease and (2) the return-to-work (RTW) process.

Methods: Workers' compensation claims (from 2001 to 2004) from Victoria, Australia (n = 59,525) were analyzed. Time off work was defined in terms of time until first RTW, number of workdays compensated, and work disability recurrences.

Results: The incidence of lost-time claims was 7.54 per 1000 worker-years; incidence increased with age to reach a maximum at ages 50 to 54 years. Days until first return also increased with age, as did the sum of compensated days. Recurrences were common (37%) and also increased with age.

Conclusions: The aging workforce will lead to substantial increase in work disability. Besides general disease and injury preventative practices, policies could aim to provide tailored RTW programs for aging workers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources