Safety and Health at Work

Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (산업안전보건연구원)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Occupational Injuries Among Construction Workers by Age and Related Economic Loss: Findings From Ohio Workers' Compensation, USA: 2007-2017

  • Harpriya Kaur (Division of Science Integration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) ;
  • Steven J. Wurzelbacher (Division of Field Studies and Engineering, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) ;
  • P. Tim Bushnell (Office of the Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) ;
  • Stephen Bertke (Division of Field Studies and Engineering, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) ;
  • Alysha R. Meyers (Division of Field Studies and Engineering, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) ;
  • James W. Grosch (Division of Science Integration, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) ;
  • Steven J. Naber (Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation) ;
  • Michael Lampl (Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation)
  • Received : 2023.07.04
  • Accepted : 2023.10.03
  • Published : 2023.12.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Background: This study examined age-group differences in the rate, severity, and cost of injuries among construction workers to support evidence-based worker safety and health interventions in the construction industry. Methods: Ohio workers' compensation claims for construction workers were used to estimate claim rates and costs by age group. We analyzed claims data auto-coded into five event/exposure categories: transportation incidents; slips, trips, and falls (STFs); exposure to harmful substances and environments; contact with objects and equipment (COB); overexertion and bodily reaction. American Community Survey data were used to determine the percentage of workers in each age group. Results: From 2007-2017, among 72,416 accepted injury claims for ~166,000 construction full-time equivalent (FTE) per year, nearly half were caused by COB, followed by STFs (20%) and overexertion (20%). Claim rates related to COB and exposure to harmful substances and environments were highest among those 18-24 years old, with claim rates of 313.5 and 25.9 per 10,000 FTE, respectively. STFs increased with age, with the highest claim rates for those 55-64 years old (94.2 claims per 10,000 FTE). Overexertion claim rates increased and then declined with age, with the highest claim rate for those 35-44 years old (87.3 per 10,000 FTE). While younger workers had higher injury rates, older workers had higher proportions of lost-time claims and higher costs per claim. The total cost per FTE was highest for those 45-54 years old ($1,122 per FTE). Conclusion: The variation in rates of injury types by age suggests that age-specific prevention strategies may be useful.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge Chih-Yu Tseng at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for her invaluable assistance with study methods and analysis in the early phase of this study. The authors express their appreciation to the many other individuals, both within and outside NIOSH who reviewed previous drafts of the paper. These include, but are not limited to, Drs. Ted Hitchcock, Andrea Antra, Kathleen MacMahon, Menekse Barim from NIOSH, as well as Dr. Rebecca Jackson from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

References

  1. Choi SD. Aging workers and trade-related injuries in the US construction industry. Safety and Health at Work 2015;6(2):151-5. 
  2. Trueblood A, Brown S, Harris W. Fatal and nonfatal injuries in the construction industry, vol. 7. M AY(nd); 2022. 
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nonfatal cases involving days away from work: selected characteristics; 2019. Available from: https://www.bls.gov/iif/. 
  4. Dong X, Ringen K, Men Y, Fujimoto A. Medical costs and sources of payment for work-related injuries among hispanic construction workers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2007;49(12). 
  5. The Center for Construction Research and Training. The construction chart book: the U.S. Construction industry and its workers; 2013. 
  6. More NAHB. Young workers join the construction labor force; 2021. Available from: https://eyeonhousing.org/2021/08/more-young-workers-join-the-construction-labor-force/. 
  7. Sokas RK, Dong XS, Cain CT. Building a sustainable construction workforce. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2019;16(21):4202. 
  8. Dong XS, Wang X, Largay JA, Sokas R. Long-term health outcomes of work-related injuries among construction workers-findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. American Journal of Industrial Medicine 2015;58(3):308-18. 
  9. Soer R, Brouwer S, Geertzen JH, van der Schans CP, Groothoff JW, Reneman MF. Decline of functional capacity in healthy aging workers. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2012;93(12):2326-32. 
  10. Schwatka NV, Butler LM, Rosecrance JR. An aging workforce and injury in the construction industry. Epidemiologic Reviews 2012;34:156-67. 
  11. Centers for Disease Control Prevention. Nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses among older workers-United States, 2009. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2011;60(16):503. 
  12. Schwatka NV, Butler LM, Rosecrance JC. Age in relation to worker compensation costs in the construction industry. American Journal of Industrial Medicine 2013;56(3):356-66. 
  13. Wurzelbacher SJ, Al-Tarawneh IS, Meyers AR, Bushnell PT, Lampl MP, Robins DC, Tseng CY, Wei C, Bertke SJ, Raudabaugh JA, Haviland TM, Schnorr TM. Development of methods for using workers' compensation data for surveillance and prevention of occupational injuries among State-insured private employers in Ohio. American Journal of Industrial Medicine 2016;59(12):1087-104. 
  14. U.S. Census Bureau. American community Survey 2021. updated November 23; 2021. Available from, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/data.html. 
  15. Wurzelbacher S, Meyers A, Bertke S, Lampl M, Robins D, Bushnell P, Tarawneh A, Childress D, Turnes J. Comparison of cost valuation methods for workers compensation. In: Schnorr T.M. Proceedings of use of workers' compensation data for occupational safety and health workshop utterback DF. NIOSH Pub; 2013. 
  16. R Core Team. R. A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2021. 
  17. Stoesz B, Chimney K, Deng C, Grogan H, Menec V, Piotrowski C, Shooshtari S, Turner N. Incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of non-fatal work-related injuries among older workers: a review of research from 2010 to 2019. Safety Science 2020;126:104668. 
  18. Lipscomb HJ, Schoenfisch AL, Shishlov KS. Non-fatal contact injuries among workers in the construction industry treated in U.S. emergency departments, 1998-2005. Journal of Safety Research 2010;41(3):191-5. 
  19. Lavack AM, Magnuson SL, Deshpande S, Basil DZ, Basil MD, Mintz JH. Enhancing occupational health and safety in young workers: the role of social marketing. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing 2008;13(3):193-204. 
  20. Turner N, Deng C, Granger S, Wingate TG, Shafqat R, Dueck PM. Young workers and safety: a critical review and future research agenda. Journal of Safety Research 2022;83:79-95. 
  21. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Productive Aging and Work [updated September 11, 2015. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/productiveaging/safetyandhealth.html 2015; 2015. 
  22. Varianou-Mikellidou C, Boustras G, Dimopoulos C, Wybo J-L, Guldenmund FW, Nicolaidou I, Anyfantis O. Occupational health and safety management in the context of an ageing workforce. Safety Science 2019;116:231-44. 
  23. Rosecrance J, Butler L, Schwatka N, Aep M. The role of age on the cause, type, nature and cost of construction injuries. CPWR Small Grant Final Report; 2011. 
  24. Lockhart TE, Smith JL, Woldstad JC. Effects of aging on the biomechanics of slips and falls. Human Factors 2005;47(4):708-29. 
  25. Welch LS, Haile E, Boden LI, Hunting KL. Age, work limitations and physical functioning among construction roofers. Work 2008;31(4):377-85. 
  26. Kaur H, Wurzelbacher SJ, Bushnell PT, Grosch JW, Tseng C-Y, Scholl JC, Meyers AR, Lampl M. Workers' compensation claim rates and costs for musculoskeletal disorders related to overexertion among construction workers - Ohio, 2007-2017. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2021;70(16):577-82. 
  27. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The state of the national initiative on prevention through design. DHHS/NIOSH Publication No 2014-123);2013. 
  28. McKenzie E, Gillen M, Afanuh S. Preventing falls from heights through the design of embedded safety features; 2014. 
  29. Kim HK, Hussain M, Park J, Lee J, Lee JW. Analysis of active back-support exoskeleton during manual load-lifting tasks. Journal of Medical and Biological Engineering 2021;41(5):704-14. 
  30. Merkus SL, Lunde L-K, Koch M, Waersted M, Knardahl S, Veiersted KB. Physical capacity, occupational physical demands, and relative physical strain of older employees in construction and healthcare. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health 2019;92(3):295-307. 
  31. Becker P, Fullen M, Akladios M, Hobbs G. Prevention of construction falls by organizational intervention. Injury Prevention 2001;7(suppl 1):i64. 
  32. Choi SD. Safety and ergonomic considerations for an aging workforce in the US construction industry. Work 2009;33(3):307-15. 
  33. Mallett LG. Coaching skills for on-the-job trainers. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control; 2005. 
  34. Novak N, English T. Reverse mentorship: a model for the future of the construction workforce: building Design + Construction; 2022. Available from: https://www.bdcnetwork.com/reverse-mentorship-model-future-construction-workforce#:~:text=Reverse%20mentorship%3A%20A%20model%20for%20the%20future%20of,and%20gain%20future-forward%20insights%20for%20life%20and%20business. 
  35. Evanoff B, Dale AM, Zeringue A, Fuchs M, Gaal J, Lipscomb HJ, Kaskutas V. Results of a fall prevention educational intervention for residential construction. Safety Science 2016;89:301-7. 
  36. Soderbacka T, Nyholm L, Fagerstrom L. Workplace interventions that support older employees' health and work ability - a scoping review. BMC Health Services Research 2020;20(1):472. 
  37. Welch LS, Haile E, Boden LI, Hunting KL. Impact of musculoskeletal and medical conditions on disability retirement-a longitudinal study among construction roofers. American Journal of Industrial Medicine 2010;53(6):552-60. 
  38. Philson CS. Graying work force: safety concerns of the aging employee. Professional Safety 1990;35(4):40. 
  39. Fisher TF. Industrial Rehabilitation a natural environment for occupational therapy practitioners. Work 1994;4(4):259-63. 
  40. Bertke SJ, Meyers AR, Wurzelbacher SJ, Measure A, Lampl MP, Robins D. Comparison of methods for auto-coding causation of injury narratives. Accident Analysis & Prevention 2016;88:117-23. 
  41. Leigh JP. Economic burden of occupational injury and illness in the United States. The Milbank Quarterly 2011;89(4):728-72. 
  42. Tucker S, Diekrager D, Turner N, Kelloway EK. Work-related injury underreporting among young workers: prevalence, gender differences, and explanations for underreporting. Journal of Safety Research 2014;50:67-73. 
  43. Biddle J, Roberts K. Claiming behavior in workers' compensation. Journal of Risk and Insurance 2003;70(4):759-80. 
  44. Pransky G, Snyder T, Dembe A, Himmelstein JAY. Under-reporting of work-related disorders in the workplace: a case study and review of the literature. Ergonomics 1999;42(1):171-82. 
  45. Brown S, Brooks RD, Dong XS. Injury inequalities among U.S. construction workers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 2021;18(4-5):159-68. 
  46. Lipscomb HJ, Glazner JE, Bondy J, Guarini K, Lezotte D. Injuries from slips and trips in construction. Applied Ergonomics 2006;37(3):267-74. 
  47. Schwatka NV, Butler LM, JRJEr Rosecrance. An Aging Workforce and Injury in the Construction Industry 2012;34(1):156-67. 
  48. Ng TW, Feldman DC. The relationship of age to ten dimensions of job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology 2008;93(2):392-423. 
  49. Stalnaker CK. Safety of older workers in the 21st century. Professional Safety 1998;43(6):28.