title: Return-to-work according to impairment type among occupationally injured workers in Korea.
abstract: This study examined the association between return-to-work and impairment type. Database of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service was used to identify disabled persons; and return-to-work information was obtained from the Korea Employment Information Services database. The study participants were 79,328 persons who received Workers' compensation and who were confirmed as disabled during 2009-2011. Logistic regression was used to analyze the association between return-to-work and impairment type, adjusted by age, sex, impairment severity, pre-injury businesses size, and pre-injury occupational category. Compared to injuries of the upper limbs, the odds ratio of return-to-work was 0.63 (95% CI, 0.60-0.65) for injuries involving the lower limbs, 0.62 (95% CI, 0.59-0.66) for the spine, 0.75 (95% CI, 0.66-0.86) for the eyes, 0.98 (95% CI, 0.77-1.25) for the oral cavity, 0.44 (95% CI, 0.37-0.53) for the ears, 1.02 (95% CI, 0.83-1.25) for the figure, 0.75 (95% CI, 0.72-0.79) for pain, and 0.36 (95% CI, 0.32-0.41) for neuropsychiatric impairment. These findings indicate that impairment type influences return-to-work rates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Dankook University Medical Center, Cheonan, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeongbae
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rhie
authors.forename: Inchul
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Jong Uk
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Won
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D009790:Occupations; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational; D056910:Republic of Korea; D062707:Return to Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014942:Workers' Compensation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Disabled Persons; Occupational Injuries; Return to Work; Workers' Compensation, Disability