First responders' occupational injury and disease associated with periods of extreme bushfires.

There has been limited research on the health impacts of extreme bushfire exposure among emergency responders (ER) involved in suppressing extreme bushfires. This study aimed to evaluate the associations between extreme bushfires and ER's compensated injury and illness in Victoria, Australia. State-wide ER compensation claims from January 2005 to April 2023 were analysed. Logistic regression modelling was used to identify factors associated with compensation claims during the extreme bushfire periods in 2009 and 2019/20, compared to all other claims, adjusting for seasonality (summer). Of the 44,164 included claims, 1105 (2.5%) had recorded injury/disease onset dates within extreme bushfire periods, and 11,642 (26.4%) occurred in summer months. Over half of claims were made by police (52.4%), followed by ambulance officers/paramedics (27.2%) and firefighters (20.5%). Extreme bushfire period claims were associated with older workers (odds ratio/OR = 1.58,95%CI = 1.30-1.92, ages ≥ 55 vs. 35-44 years). Mental disorders (OR = 1.61,95%CI = 1.25-2.07), intracranial injuries (OR = 3.04,95%CI = 1.69-5.48) and infections/parasites (OR = 3.11,95%CI = 1.61-5.98) vs. wounds were associated with extreme bushfire period claims. Given the expected increase in extreme bushfire events and the ageing workforce, study findings underscore the importance of primary and secondary prevention in ER. This can include periodic health surveillance for older workers, access to early treatment, and ongoing support for mental health conditions.

Incidence, trends and factors associated with psychological injury among health and social care workers in New South Wales, Australia: a retrospective cohort study of workers' compensation claims.

OBJECTIVES: To describe and compare the incidence and trends of workers' compensation (WC) claims for psychological injury: (1) between health and social care (HSC) industry and other industries; (2) among specific occupations in the HSC industry; and (3) to determine if psychological injury claim rates differ by age and gender in the HSC industry and among specific occupations. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the New South Wales WC system. Workers with accepted psychological injury claims between July 2012 and June 2021 were included. Negative binomial regression models were employed to estimate incidence rate ratios and 95% CIs. RESULTS: The HSC industry had a higher incidence (2.4 per 1000 workers) than all other industries combined (1.1 per 1000 workers). In the HSC industry, the incidence increased from 1.8 in 2013-2015 to 3.4 in 2019-2021. Ambulance officers had the highest incidence (24.9 per 1000 workers) and the highest growth rate. Nurses and midwives, and aged and disability care workers also had fast-growing incidence over the 9 years. Risk of psychological injury claims was highest among female workers and older adults. CONCLUSIONS: The increasing incidence and trend of psychological injury claims among HSC workers in New South Wales signify a growing public health issue. Greater efforts are needed to prevent work-related psychological injury in the HSC industry and support affected workers. The different patterns of psychological injury claims across occupations suggest that interventions should be tailored to each occupational group.

How Much Physiotherapy, Chiropractic, and Osteopathy Care Do Compensated Australian Workers with Low Back Pain Receive? A Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: To identify the prevalence and frequency of physiotherapy, chiropractic, and/or osteopathy care in Australians with workers' compensation claims for low back pain (LBP). METHODS: We included workers with accepted workers' compensation claims longer than 2 weeks from the Australian states of Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia. Workers were grouped by whether they attended physiotherapy, chiropractic, and/or osteopathy in the first 2 years of their claim. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to describe differences between groups. Descriptive statistics and negative binomial regression were used to describe differences in the number of attendances in each group. RESULTS: Most workers had at least one physical therapy attendance during the period of their claim (n = 23,619, 82.0%). Worker state, socioeconomic status, and remoteness were the largest contributing factors to likelihood of physical therapy attendance. Most workers only attended physiotherapy (n = 21,035, 89.1%, median of 13 times). Far fewer only attended chiropractic (n = 528, 2.2%, median of 8 times) or only osteopathy (n = 296, 1.3%, median of 10 times), while 1,750 (7.5%) attended for care with more than one type of physical therapy (median of 31 times). CONCLUSION: Most Australian workers with workers' compensation time loss claims for LBP attend physiotherapy at least once during their claims. State of claim is the strongest predictor of which physical therapy profession they attend, possibly due to regional availability. Workers who see a physiotherapist have significantly more attendances. Future research should explore the relationship between these patterns of care and claimant outcomes, including work disability duration.

The burden of working time lost to compensable occupational injury and disease in Australia, 2012-17: a retrospective population-based study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the national burden of working time lost to occupational injury and disease in Australia compensable by workers' compensation schemes; to characterise the distribution of time lost by age, sex, and injury and disease type. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective population-based study; analysis of National Dataset for Compensation-based Statistics (NDS) data. SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: Granted workers' compensation claims by people aged 15-100 years including payment of wage replacement benefits for time off work lodged in Australia, 1 July 2012 - 30 June 2017. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Working years lost (WYL) per annum (total number of years of wage replacement benefits paid to injured and ill workers), overall and by sex, age, and injury and disease type; WYL per 10 000 fulltime equivalent (FTE) years worked. RESULTS: A total of 755 330 eligible claims with complete data for analysis variables by people aged 15-100 years were identified, for compensable injuries and disease that led to 41 194 (95% confidence interval [CI], 41 020-41 368) WYL/year. The annual WYL number and rate were each higher for men (25 367 [95% CI, 25 230-25 503] WYL/year; 42.6 [95% CI, 42.1-43.1] WYL/10 000 FTE years) than for women (15 827 [95% CI, 15 720-15 935] WYL/year; 38.8 [95% CI, 38.2-39.4] WYL/10 000 FTE years). Workers aged 45-100 years made 66 742 claims per year (44.1% of all claims) but incurred 21 763 WYL/year (52.8% of all WYL). Traumatic joint and muscle injuries led to 16 494 WYL/year (40.0% of all WYL), musculoskeletal disorders to 8547 WYL/year (20.7%), mental health conditions to 5361 WYL/year (13.0%), fractures to 4276 WYL/year (10.4%), and wounds and lacerations to 3449 WYL/year (8.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Occupational injury and disease covered by workers' compensation result in lost working time in Australia equivalent to more than 41 000 fulltime jobs. Distribution of the burden reflects the greater labour force participation of men, slower recovery of older workers, and the impact of common occupational injuries and diseases. Population-based monitoring of lost working time could support effective occupational health surveillance and allocation of resources for protecting the health of Australian workers.

Secular trends in gabapentinoid dispensing by compensated workers with low back pain: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: The increase in gabapentinoid prescribing is paralleling the increase in serious harms. To describe the low back pain workers compensation population whose management included a gabapentinoid between 2010 and 2017, and determine secular trends in, and factors associated with gabapentinoid use. METHODS: We analysed claim-level and service-level data from the Victorian workers' compensation programme between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2017 for workers with an accepted claim for a low back pain injury and who had programme-funded gabapentinoid dispensing. Secular trends were calculated as a proportion of gabapentinoid dispensings per year. Poisson, negative binomial and Cox hazards models were used to examine changes over time in incidence and time to first dispensing. RESULTS: Of the 17 689 low back pain claimants, one in seven (14.7%) were dispensed at least one gabapentinoid during the first 2 years (n=2608). The proportion of workers who were dispensed a gabapentinoid significantly increased over time (7.9% in 2010 to 18.7% in 2017), despite a reduction in the number of claimants dispensed pain-related medicines. Gabapentinoid dispensing was significantly associated with an opioid analgesic or anti-depressant dispensing claim, but not claimant-level characteristics. The time to first gabapentinoid dispensing significantly decreased over time from 311.9 days (SD 200.7) in 2010 to 148.2 days (SD 183.1) in 2017. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of claimants dispensed a gabapentinoid more than doubled in the period 2010-2017; and the time to first dispensing halved during this period.

Patterns of physiotherapy attendance in compensated Australian workers with low back pain: a retrospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT: Workers with low back pain (LBP) frequently seek care from physiotherapists. We sought to identify patterns of physiotherapy attendance and factors associated with these patterns in Australian workers with accepted compensation claims for LBP. We included workers with accepted workers' compensation claims for LBP from 4 Australian states between 2011 and 2015. We used trajectory modelling to identify distinct groups of workers based on the number (ie, volume) of monthly physiotherapy attendances over a 2-year period from claim acceptance. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were used to compare the characteristics of the groups. A small but significant proportion attend numerous times over a long period. 79.0% of the sample (N = 22,767) attended physiotherapy at least once in the 2 years after claim acceptance. Among these, trajectory modelling identified 4 distinct patterns of attendance. Most (N = 11,808, 51.9%) recorded a short-term low-volume pattern, 26.8% (n = 6089) recorded a short-term high-volume pattern, 14.3% (n = 3255) recorded a long-term low-volume pattern, and 7.1% (n = 1615) recorded a long-term high-volume pattern. Workers from Victoria (OR 0.34, 99% CI 0.31, 0.37), South Australia (OR 0.69, 99% CI 0.60, 0.80), and Western Australia (OR 0.79, 99% CI 0.69, 0.88) were significantly less likely to attend physiotherapy than workers from Queensland. Victorian workers were significantly more likely to be in one of the 2 long-term trajectory groups (OR 8.17, 99% CI 6.86, 9.73; OR 18.68, 99% CI 13.57, 25.70). In conclusion, most compensated Australian workers with LBP attend physiotherapy. Significant interjurisdictional differences between attendance patterns suggests that policy may play an important role in healthcare delivery.

Use of General Practitioner Services Among Workers with Work-Related Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review.

PURPOSE: Work-related low back pain (WRLBP) is a highly prevalent health problem worldwide leading to work disability and increased healthcare utilisation. General practitioners (GPs) play an important role in the management of WRLBP. Despite this, understanding of GP service use for WRLBP is limited. This systematic review aimed to determine the prevalence, patterns and determinants of GP service use for WRLBP. METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase via Ovid, Scopus and Web of Science were searched for relevant peer-reviewed articles published in English without any restriction on time of publications. Low back pain (LBP) was considered work-related if the study included workers' compensation claim data analysis, participants with accepted workers' compensation claims or reported a connection with work and LBP. The eligibility criteria for GP service use are met if there is any reported consultation with family practitioner, medical doctor or General Practitioner. Two reviewers screened articles and extracted data independently. Narrative synthesis was conducted. RESULTS: Seven eligible studies reported prevalence of GP service use among workers with WRLBP ranging from 11% to 99.3%. Only studies from Australia, Canada and the United States met the eligibility criteria. The prevalence of GP service use was higher in Australia (70%) and Canada (99.3%) compared to the United States (25.3% to 39%). The mean (standard deviation) number of GP visits ranged from 2.6 (1.6) to 9.6 (12.4) over a two-year time interval post-WRLBP onset. Determinants of higher GP service use included prior history of low back pain, more severe injury, prior GP visits and younger age. CONCLUSION: Only seven studies met the eligibility indicating a relative lack of evidence, despite the acknowledged important role that GPs play in the care of workers with low back pain. More research is needed to understand the prevalence, patterns and determinants to support effective service delivery and policy development.

Determinants of psychological injury among health and social care workers in community settings: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Health and Social Care (HSC) workers face psychological health risks in the workplace. While many studies have described psychological injuries in HSC workers, few have examined the determinants. Previous research has primarily focused on hospitals, lacking systematic reviews of community-based settings. OBJECTIVE: To systematically identify and appraise current evidence on the determinants of psychological injuries among HSC workers in community settings. METHODS: Searches were conducted in three bibliographic databases, supplemented by citation searches. Included studies focused on community-based HSC workers, reporting statistical associations between psychological injury and personal, health, occupational, or organizational factors. Quantitative studies published in English between January 1, 2000 and August 15, 2023 were included. Quality appraisal was undertaken using the JBI critical appraisal checklist. RESULTS: Sixty-six studies were included. Study quality was highly variable, and all studies were cross-sectional. Twenty-three studies linked psychological injury with occupational factors (e.g. low job control, high job demands and low job satisfaction). Thirteen studies observed an association between work environment and psychological injury, and a further eleven between workplace social support and psychological injury. Fewer studies have examined the relationship between psychological injury and personal/individual factors. CONCLUSION: Occupational and organisational factors are significantly associated with psychological health among HSA workers, in community settings. These aspects of job design, work environment and workplace relationships are modifiable, suggesting an opportunity for work design interventions to improve workers' psychological health and reduce the prevalence of psychological injury in this sector.

Capture, Coding, and Reporting of Health Care and Medicine Information in Australian Workers' Compensation Systems.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to characterize the approaches to collecting, coding, and reporting health care and medicines data within Australian workers' compensation schemes. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of data and information professionals in major Australian workers' compensation jurisdictions. Questionnaires were developed with input from key informants and a review of existing documentation. RESULTS: Twenty-five participants representing regulators (40%) and insurers (60%) with representation from all Australian jurisdictions were included. Health care and medicines data sources, depth, coding standards, and reporting practices exhibited significant variability across the Australian workers' compensation schemes. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial variability exists in the capture, coding, and reporting of health care and medicine data in Australian workers' compensation jurisdictions. There are opportunities to advance understanding of medicines and health service delivery in these schemes through greater harmonization of data collection, data coding, and reporting.

Preoperative opioid use and postoperative return to work following spinal surgery in workers' compensation settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Opioid use prior to spinal surgery is common among patients with workers' compensation (WC) claims. Extended opioid use for pain management in this population is associated with several adverse outcomes including delayed return to work (RTW). OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to assess the evidence on the association of preoperative opioid use with stable RTW and RTW within 1-year after spinal surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The authors searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Emcare, CINAHL Plus, Scopus, and Web of Science from inception to 14 January 2023. The authors included studies that compared any preoperative opioid use with no opioid use, and those that enabled a comparison of different durations of preoperative opioid use. The primary outcome was stable RTW after spinal surgery. Secondary outcomes were RTW within 1-year after surgery and cost of WC claims. A random effect model was assumed to pool the effect estimate. The GRADE approach was applied to evaluate the certainty of evidence. RESULTS: From 2589 records, 10 studies were included, and of these, nine were considered for quantitative synthesis. All studies were observational with eight retrospective cohort and two case-control studies. Five studies each investigated cervical and lumbar disorders. With moderate certainty evidence, the odds of postoperative stable RTW reduced by half (OR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.43-0.59; 5549 participants) in patients using opioids preoperatively. Similarly, moderate certainty evidence from 2348 participants demonstrated that the odds of RTW within 1-year after surgery were reduced by more than half in patients with preoperative opioid prescriptions (OR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.36-0.59). CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review and meta-analysis shows that preoperative opioid use is associated with a reduction in odds of postoperative RTW by half in patients with WC-funded spinal surgery.

Priority populations' experiences of isolation, quarantine and distancing for COVID-19: protocol for a longitudinal cohort study (Optimise Study).

INTRODUCTION: Longitudinal studies can provide timely and accurate information to evaluate and inform COVID-19 control and mitigation strategies and future pandemic preparedness. The Optimise Study is a multidisciplinary research platform established in the Australian state of Victoria in September 2020 to collect epidemiological, social, psychological and behavioural data from priority populations. It aims to understand changing public attitudes, behaviours and experiences of COVID-19 and inform epidemic modelling and support responsive government policy. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This protocol paper describes the data collection procedures for the Optimise Study, an ongoing longitudinal cohort of ~1000 Victorian adults and their social networks. Participants are recruited using snowball sampling with a set of seeds and two waves of snowball recruitment. Seeds are purposively selected from priority groups, including recent COVID-19 cases and close contacts and people at heightened risk of infection and/or adverse outcomes of COVID-19 infection and/or public health measures. Participants complete a schedule of monthly quantitative surveys and daily diaries for up to 24 months, plus additional surveys annually for up to 48 months. Cohort participants are recruited for qualitative interviews at key time points to enable in-depth exploration of people's lived experiences. Separately, community representatives are invited to participate in community engagement groups, which review and interpret research findings to inform policy and practice recommendations. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The Optimise longitudinal cohort and qualitative interviews are approved by the Alfred Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee (# 333/20). The Optimise Study CEG is approved by the La Trobe University Human Ethics Committee (# HEC20532). All participants provide informed verbal consent to enter the cohort, with additional consent provided prior to any of the sub studies. Study findings will be disseminated through public website (https://optimisecovid.com.au/study-findings/) and through peer-reviewed publications. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05323799.

Time to Service and Its Relationship with Outcomes in Workers with Compensated Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Scoping Review.

PURPOSE: A comprehensive review of the literature on the time between the onset of symptoms and the first episode of care and its effects on important worker outcomes in compensated musculoskeletal conditions is currently lacking. This scoping review aimed to summarize the factors associated with time to service and describe outcomes in workers with workers' compensation accepted claims for musculoskeletal conditions. METHODS: We used the JBI guidelines for scoping reviews and reported following the PRISMA-ScR protocol. We included peer-reviewed articles published in English that measured the timing of health service initiation. We conducted searches in six databases, including Medline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), PsycINFO, Cinahl Plus (EBSCOhost), Scopus, and the Web of Science. Peer-reviewed articles published up to November 01, 2022 were included. The evidence was summarized using a narrative synthesis. RESULTS: Out of the 3502 studies identified, 31 were included. Eight studies reported the factors associated with time to service. Male workers, availability of return to work programmes, physically demanding occupations, and greater injury severity were associated with a shorter time to service, whereas female workers, a high number of employees in the workplace, and having legal representation were associated with a longer time to service. The relationship between time service and worker outcomes was observed in 25 studies, with early access to physical therapy and biopsychosocial interventions indicating favourable outcomes. Conversely, early opioids, and MRI in the absence of severe underlying conditions were associated with a longer duration of disability, higher claim costs, and increased healthcare utilization. CONCLUSION: Existing evidence suggests that the time to service for individuals with compensated musculoskeletal conditions was found to be associated with several characteristics. The relationship between time to service and worker outcomes was consistently indicated in the majority of the studies. This review highlights the need to consider patient-centred treatments and develop strategies to decrease early services with negative effects and increase access to early services with better outcomes.

Mental health self-care during the COVID-19 pandemic: a prospective cohort study in Australia.

INTRODUCTION: Pandemic public health measures have affected mental health for many people. We sought to determine how people were managing their mental health concerns during the pandemic, and to identify worker characteristics where actions were more common. METHODS: A prospective cohort of 1646 Australians, who were in paid employment prior to the pandemic, completed a survey during 27 April- 26 July 2020 on changes in work, health, and actions taken to manage their mental health concerns. Descriptive statistics were calculated to determine actions taken to manage mental health concerns during the prior month, such as lifestyle changes, exercise, use of online resources, and talking to others. Regression models identify worker characteristics where actions were more common. RESULTS: Lifestyle changes were the most frequently reported action to manage mental health concerns (78%), and were more common for women (OR = 2.33, 95%CI=[1.82, 3.03]), and people experiencing recent work loss (OR = 1.54, 95%CI=[1.04, 2.28]). Overall, mental health self-care was more common for people experiencing psychological distress, or with pre-existing mental conditions. Talking to friends about mental health, and making changes to diet and exercise, was more common for women and those aged 18-24 years. Psychological distress was a significant indicator for consulting with health professionals. CONCLUSION: Actions to manage mental health concerns during the pandemic were common, as were conversations with friends or family members. During economic crises, support and services should focus on reducing barriers to formal mental health care, particularly for people who less commonly seek help, and those experiencing moderate to high levels of psychological distress.

Time off work following psychological injury among health and social care workers: a population-based retrospective cohort study in New South Wales, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the disability duration and burden of compensated time loss in the health and social care (HSC) sector following psychological injury. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the New South Wales workers' compensation system. The median weeks disability duration and total weeks of working time lost (WWL) per 1000 workers were compared between the HSC sector and all other industries, and between specific occupational groups in the HSC sector, using accelerated failure time models. RESULTS: HSC workers had a median (IQR) disability duration of 12.4 (3.3-40.0) weeks, which was less than the 15.3 (4.3-48.3) weeks observed in other industries. Within the HSC sector, ambulance officers had the longest disability duration at 31.1 (6.1-104.0) weeks and highest WWL at 15 734 weeks per 1000 workers. Conversely, nurses and midwives had the shortest disability duration at 8.0 (2.0-25.8) weeks, while other healthcare workers had the lowest WWL (17.0). Controlling for other determinants, ambulance officers had the highest likelihood of longer disability duration (time ratio (TR) 2.14; 95% CI 1.64 to 2.78), followed by social workers (TR 1.46; 95% CI 1.20 to 1.79) and administrators and managers (TR 1.41; 95% CI 1.15 to 1.71). Older age, female sex, full-time employment and working in small organisations correlated with extended disability duration. CONCLUSION: There is considerable variation in the duration and burden of work disability due to psychological injury across occupational groups in the HSC sector. Findings suggest the need for occupation-specific workplace rehabilitation and psychological support to reduce the impact of psychological injury on HSC workers and improve return-to-work outcomes.

Maternal Occupational Risk Factors and Preterm Birth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the evidence on the relationship between physical occupational risks (high physical workload, long working hours, shift work, whole-body vibrations, prolonged standing, and heavy lifting) and preterm birth. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted across six databases to investigate the relationship between physical occupational risks and preterm birth. Result: A comprehensive analysis of 37 studies with varying sample sizes found moderate evidence of positive associations between high physical workload, long working hours, shift work, whole-body vibration, and preterm birth. Meta-analysis showed a 44% higher risk (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.25-1.66) for preterm birth with long working hours and a 63% higher risk (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.03-2.58) with shift work. Conclusion: Pregnant women in physically demanding jobs, those working long hours or on shifts, and those exposed to whole-body vibration have an increased risk of preterm birth. Employers should establish supportive workplaces, policymakers implement protective measures, healthcare providers conduct screenings, and pregnant women must stay informed and mitigate these job-related risks. Systematic Review Registration: [https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/], Identifier [CRD42022357045].

Impact of Prescription Medicines on Work-Related Outcomes in Workers with Musculoskeletal Disorders or Injuries: A Systematic Scoping Review.

PURPOSE: Medicines are often prescribed to workers with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and injuries to relieve pain and facilitate their recovery and return to work. However, there is a growing concern that prescription medicines may have adverse effects on work function. This scoping review aimed to summarize the existing empirical evidence on prescription medicine use by workers with MSD or injury and its relationship with work-related outcomes. METHODS: We identified studies through structured searching of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane library databases, and via searching of dissertations, theses, and grey literature databases. Studies that examined the association between prescription medicine and work-related outcomes in working age people with injury or MSDs, and were published in English after the year 2000 were eligible. RESULTS: From the 4884 records identified, 65 studies were included for review. Back disorders and opioids were the most commonly studied musculoskeletal conditions and prescription medicines, respectively. Most studies showed a negative relationship between prescription medicines and work outcomes. Opioids, psychotropics and their combination were the most common medicines associated with adverse work outcomes. Opioid prescriptions with early initiation, long-term use, strong and/or high dose and extended pre- and post-operative use in workers' compensation setting were consistently associated with adverse work function. We found emerging but inconsistent evidence that skeletal muscle relaxants and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were associated with unfavorable work outcomes. CONCLUSION: Opioids and other prescription medicines might be associated with adverse work outcomes. However, the evidence is conflicting and there were relatively fewer studies on non-opioid medicines. Further studies with more robust design are required to enable more definitive exploration of causal relationships and settle inconsistent evidence.

Workers' compensation claims for COVID-19 among workers in healthcare and other industries during 2020-2022, Victoria, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To identify and characterise COVID-19 workers' compensation claims in healthcare and other industries during the pandemic in Victoria, Australia. METHODS: We used workers' compensation claims identified as COVID-19 infection related from 1 January 2020 to 31 July 2022 to compare COVID-19 infection claims and rates of claims by industry and occupation, and in relation to Victorian COVID-19 epidemiology. A Cox proportional hazards model assessed risk factors for extended claim duration. RESULTS: Of the 3313 direct and indirect COVID-19-related claims identified, 1492 (45.0%) were classified as direct COVID-19 infection accepted time-loss claims and were included in analyses. More than half (52.9%) of COVID-19 infection claims were made by healthcare and social assistance industry workers, with claims for this group peaking in July-October 2020. The overall rate of claims was greater in the healthcare and social assistance industry compared with all other industries (16.9 vs 2.4 per 10 000 employed persons) but industry-specific rates were highest in public administration and safety (23.0 per 10 000 employed persons). Workers in healthcare and social assistance were at increased risk of longer incapacity duration (median 26 days, IQR 16-61 days) than in other industries (median 17 days, IQR 11-39.5 days). CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 infection claims differed by industry, occupational group, severity and timing and changes coincided with different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Occupational surveillance for COVID-19 cases is important and monitoring of worker's compensation claims and incapacity duration can contribute to understanding the impacts of COVID-19 on work absence.

Workplace leave patterns among Victorian health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We analysed aggregate work absences during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic from two Victorian hospital sites and corresponding individual-level survey data to understand changes in the rates and types of workplace absence. We found changing reasons for workplace absences as the pandemic progressed and observed higher rates of annual and sick leave during the months coinciding with increased COVID-19 cases and workforce burnout.