How do off-the-job injuries affect workers’ mental health?

Winnipeg, Manitoba — Injuries sustained at work may be harder on workers’ mental health than off-the-job injuries are, results of a recent study suggest.

Researchers from Canada and Australia analyzed injury and health data from the Canadian province of Manitoba. They compared more than 7,500 people who experienced serious workplace injuries with almost 29,000 others who were injured similarly while away from work.

Findings show that the “mental health trajectory from the pre-injury to post-injury period was worse for individuals with a workplace injury.”

The results suggest that there may be “factors unique to the workplace and/or injury claims and compensation structures that impact mental health following a workplace injury, and these should be considered in interventions and post-injury care,” the researchers said.

In a Feb. 13 report from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Cathy Andronis, chair of RACGP Specific Interests Psychological Medicine, said: “For many people, the workplace feels like family for them, and so injuries and their consequences feel personal and affect their relationship with both colleagues and managers, as well as their identity.”

Andronis added: “Grief is common with any injury but frequently not acknowledged. Any type of trauma – physical, psychological or social – can precipitate and perpetuate mental illness in patients. We often underestimate how much any disease, acute or chronic, has psychological symptoms.”

The study was published in the JAMA Network Open.