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Prevalence of Self-Reported Work-Related Injuries and Their Association with Psychological Symptoms in General Working Population of Taiwan

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Abstract

Objectives This study investigated the prevalence of self-reported work-related injuries across occupational groups and examined their association with the risk of psychological symptoms in general working population of Taiwan. Methods Data from a national survey conducted in 2013 of a representative sample of general working people of Taiwan was analyzed, consisting of 12,528 male and 8396 female workers aged 25~65 years. Information about work-related injuries including work-related disease occurred over the previous 12 months prior to the survey was obtained by a standardized questionnaire. The presence of psychological symptoms was assessed by the Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS). Also obtained were participants’ socio-demographic characteristics, working hours, job control, psychological job demands, physical job demands and job insecurity. Results Over a year, 14.91 % of male and 11.53 % of female working people had experienced work-related injuries. Workers with lower educational level, manual workers, the self-employed as well as employers of small enterprise were at higher risks for work-related injuries. Findings from multivariate logistic regression analyses with adjustment of gender, age, working hours and psychosocial work conditions showed that employees with experiences of work-related injuries over the past year were at a substantially higher risk for psychological symptoms (OR = 2.42) as compared to employees who had no experiences of work-related injuries. Conclusion A sizable proportion of workers are affected by work-related injuries and these workers are at higher risk for psychological symptoms. The psychosocial consequences of work-related injuries deserve further investigation and interventions.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the contributions of the Institute of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Labor of Taiwan with regards to data collection and data management. This research was financially supported by a research grant of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan (102-2410-H-002-071-MY2).

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  1. Institute of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, 17 Xu-Zhou Road, 10055, Taipei, Taiwan

    Pei-Hua Chung & Yawen Cheng

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  1. Pei-Hua Chung
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  2. Yawen Cheng
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Correspondence to Yawen Cheng.

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Chung, PH., Cheng, Y. Prevalence of Self-Reported Work-Related Injuries and Their Association with Psychological Symptoms in General Working Population of Taiwan. J Occup Rehabil 27, 195–201 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-016-9645-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-016-9645-2

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