Dataset Information

Unreported workers' compensation claims to the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: Establishment factors.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Studies suggest employers underreport injuries to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII); less is known about reporting differences by establishment characteristics.

Methods

We linked SOII data to Washington State workers' compensation claims data, using unemployment insurance data to improve linking accuracy. We used multivariable regression models to estimate incidence ratios (IR) of unreported workers' compensation claims for establishment characteristics.

Results

An estimated 70% of workers' compensation claims were reported in SOII. Claims among state and local government establishments were most likely to be reported. Compared to large manufacturing establishments, unreported claims were most common among small educational services establishments (IR?=?2.47, 95%CI: 1.52-4.01) and large construction establishments (IR?=?2.05, 95%CI: 1.77-2.37).

Conclusions

Underreporting of workers' compensation claims to SOII varies by establishment characteristics, obscuring true differences in work injury incidence. Findings may differ from previous research due to differences in study methods.

SUBMITTER: Wuellner SE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5066642 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Unreported workers' compensation claims to the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: Establishment factors.

Wuellner Sara E SE Adams Darrin A DA Bonauto David K DK

American journal of industrial medicine 20160121 4

<h4>Background</h4>Studies suggest employers underreport injuries to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII); less is known about reporting differences by establishment characteristics.<h4>Methods</h4>We linked SOII data to Washington State workers' compensation claims data, using unemployment insurance data to improve linking accuracy. We used multivariable regression models to estimate incidence ratios (IR) of unreported workers' compensation claims ...[more]

PMID: 26792563

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundAccurate identification of work-related health problems is important to understand workplace safety issues and develop appropriate interventions. Although workers' reporting of work-related injuries or illnesses is the very first step of the reporting process, many workers may encounter challenges in reporting them to their management or workers' compensation (WC) programs. This systematic review aimed to identify the level of workers' underreporting of work-related injuries and illnesses and the contributing factors and reasons for underreporting among US workers.MethodsThis study searched PubMed (Medline), PsycINFO (ProQuest), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), EMBASE (Embase.com), and Social Science Citation Index (Web of Science) using search terms related to underreporting of work-related injury or illness.ResultsTwenty studies (17 quantitative and three mixed methods studies) were identified. The studies investigated reporting to management (n = 12), WC programs (n = 6), multiple organizations (n = 1), and not specified (n = 1). The timeframe used to measure reporting prevalence varied from three months to entire careers of workers, with the most common timeframe of 12 months. This review indicated that 20-91% of workers did not report their injuries or illnesses to management or WC programs. From quantitative studies, contributing factors for injury or illness underreporting were categorized as follows: injury type and severity, sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, gender, education, and race/ethnicity), general health and functioning, worker's knowledge on reporting, job and employment characteristics (e.g., work hour, job tenure, work shift, type of occupation, and physical demand), psychosocial work environment (e.g., supervisor support, coworker support, and safety climate), and health care provider factors. From the review of qualitative studies, the reasons for underreporting included the following: fear or concern, cumbersome time and effort in the reporting process, lack of knowledge regarding reporting, perceptions of injuries as not severe or part of the job, and distrust of reporting consequences.ConclusionsThe review findings indicated that low wage earners, racial/ethnic minority workers, and workers who perceive a poor psychosocial work environment encounter more barriers to reporting a work-related injury or illness. This review also identified variations in the measurement of work-related injury reporting across studies and a lack of standardized measurement.Trial registrationThe review was registered in the PROSPERO, an international database of prospectively registered systematic reviews in health and social care (CRD42021284685).

Dataset Information

Unreported workers' compensation claims to the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: Establishment factors.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Unreported workers' compensation claims to the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: Establishment factors.

Similar Datasets

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