Nonoccupational and Occupational Injuries to US Workers With Disabilities

Abstract

Objectives. We examined medically treated injuries among US workers with disability. Methods. Using 2006–2010 National Health Interview Survey data, we compared 3-month rates of nonoccupational and occupational injuries to workers with disability (n = 7729) and without disability (n = 175 947). We fitted multivariable logistic regression models to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of injuries by disability status, controlling for sociodemographic variables. We also compared leading causes of injuries by disability status. Results. In the 3-month period prior to the survey, workers with disability were more likely than other workers to have nonoccupational injuries (odds ratio [OR] = 2.35; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.04, 2.71) and occupational injuries (OR = 2.39; 95% CI = 1.89, 3.01). For both groups, the leading cause was falls. Conclusions. Disability status was strongly associated with risk of nonoccupational and occupational injuries among US workers. The safety issues facing US workers with disability in the workplace warrant future research. Federal agencies with an interest in the employment of workers with disability and their safety in the workplace should take a lead in further assessing injury risk and in promoting a safe working environment for workers with disability.

Characteristics of nonfatal occupational injuries among U.S. workers with and without disabilities

“…Confirming the findings of our previous study [Price et al, ], this study found that workers with disabilities had greater than two times higher risk of being injured at one's place of work than workers without disabilities. Additionally, for the work‐related injuries sustained by workers with disabilities there were higher percentages of female and older workers, and their injuries more commonly happened at shopping centers, restaurants, stores, banks, gas stations, other places of business, and health care facilities and less frequently occurred in industrial or construction areas.…”

“…Falls represented a larger portion of injuries in workers with disabilities; this has also been shown by multiple other studies [Ramirez et al, ; Xiang et al, ; Gauchard et al, ; Brophy et al, ; Price et al, ]. The reasons behind the increased proportion of occupational injuries caused by overexertion or strenuous movement observed in our study are not clear.…”

“…Activity limitations questions included personal care needs, routine needs, working, walking, remembering or any other activities. This classification of disability has been used in previous studies [Loeb and Chen, ; Price et al, ]. To ensure all disabilities were pre‐existing to any reported occupational injuries in our study, respondents were categorized as having a disability if they answered “yes” to any of the disability questions and if the limitations were from a chronic condition.…”

“…Previous research has shown that persons with disabilities are more susceptible to injuries [Xiang et al, 2005, 2014; Brophy et al, ; Rasch et al, ] and have a greater risk of occupational injury [Moll van Charante and Mulder, ; Zwerling et al, 1997, 1998a,b; Lysaght et al, ]. Our previous study, using 10 years of National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data, showed that the U.S. workers with disabilities have a 2.39 times higher odds of occupational injury than workers without disabilities [Price et al, ].…”

“…Information on injury characteristics, such as demographics, causes of injury, places of injury, types of injury and the most vulnerable body regions, is necessary to develop evidence‐based injury prevention programs [Holder et al, ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), ]. Previous injury research focusing on persons with disabilities has been limited by small sample sizes of individuals with disabilities [Xiang et al, ; Brophy et al, ; Price et al, ]. Therefore, these smaller sample studies were limited in their ability to conduct the detailed analyses needed to discover the unique mechanisms and environmental situations of injuries suffered by persons with disabilities.…”