The association between rurality and return to work for workers' compensation claimants with work-related musculoskeletal injuries: An analysis of workers who failed to return to work within typical healing time frames.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study have been to: 1) describe and compare urban and rural injured worker populations in Alberta, Canada; 2) identify return-to-work outcomes in urban and rural populations; 3) examine the relationship between geographic location of residence and recovery from work-related musculoskeletal injury; and 4) investigate if this relationship is attenuated after controlling for other known risk factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study was a secondary analysis utilizing data of a population of musculoskeletal injury claimants who underwent clinical/RTW (return to work) assessment between December 2009 and January 2011 collected by the Workers' Compensation Board of Alberta. Descriptive statistics were computed for 32 variables and used for comparing urban and rural workers. The logistic regression analysis was performed to test the association between geographic location of residence and likelihood of return-to-work. RESULTS: Data on 7843 claimants was included, 70.1% of them being urban and 29.9% - rural. Rural claimants tended to have spent less time in formal education, have a blue-collar job, have no modified work available, have a diagnosed comorbidity, and not been enrolled in a specialized rehabilitation program. They were 1.43 (1.12-1.84) times the odds more likely than urban claimants to be continuing to receive full disability benefits 90 days after their RTW assessment, and 1.68 (1.06-2.67) times the odds as likely to report a recurrence of receiving disability benefits. CONCLUSIONS: Rural residence was associated with prolonged work disability, even after controlling for age, job type, education level, health utilization and other potential confounders. Further research is required to explore why injured workers in rural settings experience prolonged reception of disability benefits and have greater rates of recurrence of receiving disability benefits. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(5):715-729.

Endotoxin as a determinant of asthma and wheeze among rural dwelling children and adolescents: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: The association between endotoxin exposure and asthma is complex and has been associated with rural living. We examined the relationship between domestic endotoxin and asthma or wheeze among rural school-aged children (6-18 years) and assessed the interaction between endotoxin and other characteristics with these outcomes. METHODS: Between 2005 and 2007 we conducted a case-control study of children 6-18 years in the rural region of Humboldt, Canada. Cases (n = 102) reported doctor-diagnosed asthma or wheeze in the past year. Controls (n = 208) were randomly selected from children without asthma or wheeze. Data were collected to ascertain symptoms, asthma history and indoor environmental exposures (questionnaire), endotoxin (dust collection from the play area floor and child's mattress), and tobacco smoke exposure (saliva collection). Statistical testing was completed using multiple logistic regression to account for potential confounders and to assess interaction between risk factors. A stratified analysis was also completed to examine the effect of personal history of allergy. RESULTS: Among children aged 6-12 years, mattress endotoxin concentration (EU/mg) and load (EU/m2) were inversely associated with being a case [odds ratio (OR) = 0.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.20-0.98; and OR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.20-0.75, respectively]. These associations were not observed in older children or with play area endotoxin. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that endotoxin exposure might be protective for asthma or wheeze. The protective effect is found in younger school-aged, non-allergic children. These results may help explain the inconsistencies in previous studies and suggest that the protective effects of endotoxin in the prevention of atopy and asthma or wheeze are most effective earlier in life.

Pain coping in injured workers with chronic pain: what's unique about workers?

PURPOSE: Pain caused by a work injury is a complex phenomenon comprising multiple factors, e.g. age, gender, prior health status, occupation, job demands, and severity of injury. Little research has focused on injured workers with chronic pain. This study investigates injured workers' pain coping. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used to measure coping strategies of injured workers in a work rehabilitation program. Differences in coping strategies by demographics, injury-related variables, pain, disability, and depression were measured. RESULTS: n = 479. The coping strategy with the highest mean score was "coping self statements" (Mean = 19.4, SD = 7.6), followed by "praying/hoping" (Mean = 18.2, SD = 9.7), and "catastrophizing" (Mean = 17.5, SD = 8.0). Statistical differences for coping strategies were noted between gender, marital status, depression levels, self-perceived disability levels, and pain (p < 0.01 for all). CONCLUSIONS: This study provided relevant information about how injured workers cope with pain. In conditions in which there may be a perceived lack of control (high pain intensity, high self-perceived disability, and high self rated depression), there were significantly higher amounts of both "catastrophizing" and "praying and hoping". Therefore, workers with high pain and high self-perceived disability are more likely catastrophize their pain, leading to poor recovery outcomes.

Barriers to the recognition and reporting of occupational asthma by Canadian pulmonologists.

BACKGROUND: Occupational asthma is a common, but probably under-recognized problem. OBJECTIVE: To identify the factors that suggest work-related asthma when a pulmonologist encounters an adult patient with new-onset asthma, and to identify the barriers to recognizing and reporting such cases. METHODS: A postal questionnaire was sent to all pulmonologists in Canada. The questionnaire asked participants to respond to several questions about recognizing, diagnosing and reporting occupational asthma. Answers were scored using visual analogue scales. RESULTS: A total of 201 eligible responses were received from 458 pulmonologists. Pulmonologists identified that the most important factor in initially considering the role of work in occupational asthma was having seen others affected at the same workplace, or exposed to the same agent. Important perceived barriers to considering a diagnosis of occupational asthma were physicians' low awareness, lack of knowledge and time. The most important barriers to reporting cases were the pulmonologists' perceived patient concerns regarding job security and income. Quebec pulmonologists generally perceived barriers to recognizing and reporting occupational asthma to be less important, and believed that the use of specific inhalation challenge was more important in considering a diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonologists most readily recognized occupational asthma caused by a substance or process that they previously encountered as a possible cause of asthma. Time constraints and knowledge may hamper their ability to recognize occupational asthma. Concerns regarding the effect of the diagnosis on the patient's job and income may discourage reporting.

Paid work, domestic work, and other determinants of pregnancy outcome in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the determinants of low birth weight (LBW), preterm birth, and stillbirth, and the factors associated with paid or domestic work that affected pregnancy outcome in Ibadan, Nigeria. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of women who delivered live or stillborn singleton neonates at 4 hospitals between February and June 2008. Participants were interviewed to obtain information on paid and domestic work activities during pregnancy, as well as obstetric history. Pregnancy outcomes and other clinical data were extracted from case notes. RESULTS: A total of 1504 mothers aged 20-45 years recorded 137 (9.1%) LBW neonates (<2.5 kg), 154 (10.2%) preterm deliveries (<37 weeks), and 56 (3.7%) stillbirths. There was no overall increased risk of these outcomes among working mothers. Multivariate logistic regression analysis of working mothers who had booked their deliveries revealed that lifting heavy objects at home, a clinical record of proteinuria, and hospital admission during pregnancy were associated with LBW. Predictors for preterm birth were self-reported exposure to vibration at work, nulliparity, history of preterm birth, 4 or fewer compared with more than 8 antenatal visits, and prolonged rupture of membranes. Predictors for stillbirth were low education and prolonged rupture of membranes. CONCLUSION: The results further support recommendations that physical exertion in paid and domestic work should be reduced during pregnancy.

Second WCB claims: who is at risk?

OBJECTIVES: Many workers with one Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) claim make further claims. If the characteristics of the job, initial injury or worker were predictive of an early second claim, interventions at the time of return to work after the first claim might be effective in reducing the burden of work-related injury. This report explores the characteristic of those who make a second claim. METHODS: Records of all Alberta WCB claims from January 1, 1995, to December 31, 2004, for individuals 18 to < 66 years old were reviewed. For each individual's first claim, sex and age of claimant, type of injury, type of accident, occupation, industry, an indicator of company size, and industry claim rate were extracted, as well as the date of any second claim. The likelihood of second claim and mean time to second claim were estimated. Multivariate analyses were performed using Cox regression. RESULTS: 1,047,828 claims were identified from 490,230 individuals. Of these, 49.2% had at least two claims. In the multivariate model a reduced time to second claim was associated with male sex, younger age and some types of injury and accident. Machining trades were at highest risk of early second claim (hazard ratio [HR] 2.54 compared with administration), and of the industry sectors manufacturing was at highest risk (HR 1.37 compared with business, personal and professional services). CONCLUSION: Some caution is needed in interpreting these data as they may be affected by under-reporting and job changes between claims. Nonetheless, they suggest that there remains room for interventions to reduce the considerable differences in risk of a second claim among workers, jobs and industries.