BACKGROUND: Data regarding the prevalence of work-related injuries and illnesses in the United States is incomplete. The majority of information on work-related injuries are based on reporting from employers, and thus, cases are likely underreported. To address this gap in information, questions about work-related injuries were added to the Florida Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey in 2013. The purpose of this analysis was to assess the association between specific demographic and health indicators and risk of work-related injury among Florida’s adult population.
METHODS: The BRFSS is a state-based telephone survey designed to collect information from adults 18 years and older concerning health-related risk behaviors and access to healthcare related to chronic disease and injury. Respondents were classified as having a work-related injury if they answered “Yes” to needing medical treatment for an injury sustained at work in the past 12 months. Logistic regression was used to analyze variables including age, sex, race/ethnicity, household income, education level, self-rated health status, health insurance status, whether they have a personal physician, body mass index (BMI), and industry/occupation.
RESULTS: Of the 11,165 survey respondents, 487 (4.7%, 95% CI: 3.8-5.6) reported needing medical treatment for an injury sustained at work in the past 12 months. The majority of respondents sustaining work-related injuries were male (68.1%, 95% CI: 59.4-76.8) and aged 25 to 34 years (25.8%, 95% CI: 14.9-36.6). Industries with the highest prevalence of injuries were non-military government (19.5%, 95% CI= 11.7-27.3) and healthcare/social assistance (15.0%, 95% CI= 8.9-21.2). Respondents with a high school education or less were twice as likely to report a work-related injury compared to college graduates (OR= 2.0, 95% CI: 1.1-3.6, p 0.02). Overweight/obese individuals (BMI ≥25.0) were 67.5% more likely to report a work-related injury compared to individuals with a BMI <25 (OR=1.675, 95% CI: 1.1-2.6, p 0.03). Respondents with a personal physician were 2.2 times as likely to report an injury sustained at work compared to respondents without a doctor (95% CI: 1.3-3.8, p 0.006). Household income and race were not significantly associated with reports of work-related injury.
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, individuals reporting work-related injuries were less educated, male, younger, overweight/obese, and more likely to have a personal doctor. Adding specific work-related injury and illness questions to the BRFSS can help target workplace injury prevention efforts and better assess work-related health outcomes.