Differences in the return-to-work process for work-related psychological and musculoskeletal conditions: findings from an Australian cohort

Peter Smith
Institute for Work & Health

Many workers’ compensation agencies across Canada have begun accepting claims for chronic mental stress that results from work. This represents a significant shift in the recognition of the role of work in the development of chronic mental stress conditions. Research in other jurisdictions has shown that psychological claims are associated with greater health-care and wage replacement costs compared to claims for physical conditions. However, the potential reasons for these differences have not been well understood.

In this IWH Speaker Series presentation, Dr. Peter Smith presents findings from a cohort study of 869 workers’ compensation claimants in the Australian state of Victoria who were followed over a 12-month period. He highlights differences between the two groups of claimants (psychological and musculoskeletal) across multiple factors, including their personal profile, the health-care service they received, the workplace management of their injuries and the system-level processing of their claims.

About presenter
Dr. Peter Smith is scientific co-director and a senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. He has extensive experience conducting research related to work injury and its consequences using large, population-based surveys and administrative workers’ compensation data. His key research interests include: gender and sex differences in the relationship between work and the risk of chronic disease and work injury; the nature and measurement of occupational health and safety vulnerability; return-to-work experiences for people with mental health conditions; and the long-term outcomes of injured workers.

About IWH Speaker Series
The IWH Speaker Series brings you the latest findings from work and health researchers from the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and beyond. For those unable to attend, the recorded webinar of most presentations in the IWH Speaker Series are made available on its web page within a week of the event.