| Year Funded: 2010 | Budget: | Funding Agency: Institute for Work & Health (IWH), Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario |
|---|---|---|
| Title: | Comparison of the 1993 Early Claimant Cohort and the 2005 Readiness for Return to Work Cohort (IWH Project 2145) | |
| Category: | Compensation, Disability Management and Return to Work | |
| Subcategory: | Compensation, Disability Management and Return to Work | |
| Keywords: | return to work, case management, workers’ compensation, work disability | |
| Link to research website: | www.iwh.on.ca | |
Issue:
The number of days of benefit payment has been steadily increasing since 1998 in Ontario. Work in progress using WSIB administrative data suggests that changes in worker, injury & workplace attributes do not explain these increases. On the other hand, some markers of claims management (e.g., delays in adjudication) are related to the increase in claim duration. In this project, we will examine differences in injury severity, worker health, workplace attributes such as disability management practices and work status as reported by the worker. To accomplish this we take advantage of two worker cohorts – the Early Claimant Cohort (ECC) and the Readiness for Return to Work Cohort (R-RTW) recruited in 1993 and 2005 respectively. The two cohorts bracket the major WSIB policy changes in 1998. The overarching study goal is to explain what is driving recent increases in lost time claim durations.
Objectives:
The goals of this project are:
• to compare 1-year health-related outcomes and work status to determine whether there are differences in the 1-year outcome or differences in change within the 1st year,
• to compare claims outcomes over four (and then six) years between the two cohorts to determine whether there are differences,
• to determine whether the duration and patterns of benefit receipt are different between the two cohorts and whether those differences can in turn be explained by differences in worker, injury or workplace characteristics or claims milestones.
Anticipated Results:
This study will provide information relevant to two of the WSIB RAC’s research priorities, namely Fair Compensation, Ontario Workers’ Compensation System, and Policy and Return-to-Work, Disability Management, and Rehabilitation. The study goals are to identify factors that have led to prolonged claim durations in recent years, some of which may be related to changes in practices arising from a policy change – the enactment of the Workplace Safety & Insurance Act in 1998.
Investigators:
Sheilah A. Hogg-Johnson, David Tolusso, Ivan Steenstra, Emile Tompa, Benjamin C. Amick (Institute for Work & Health),Renée-Louise Franche (Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare (OHSAH) in BC)
Ute Bültmann (University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen)
