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Previously published analyses of suicide case investigations suggest that work or working conditions contribute to 10%-13% of suicide deaths. Yet, the way in which work may increase suicide risk is an underdeveloped area of epidemiologic research. In this Commentary, we propose a definition of work-related suicide from an occupational health and safety perspective, and review the case investigation-based and epidemiologic evidence on work-related causes of suicide. We identified six broad categories of potential work-related causes of suicide, which are: (1) workplace chemical, physical, and psychosocial exposures; (2) exposure to trauma on the job; (3) access to means of suicide through work; (4) exposure to high-stigma work environments; (5) exposure to normative environments promoting extreme orientation to work; and (6) adverse experiences arising from work-related injury or illness. We summarise current evidence in a schema of potential work-related causes that can also be applied in workplace risk assessment and suicide case investigations. There are numerous implications of these findings for policy and practice. Various principle- and evidence-based workplace intervention strategies for suicide prevention exist, some of which have been shown to improve suicide-prevention literacy, reduce stigma, enhance helping behaviours, and in some instances maybe even reduce suicide rates. Prevailing practice in workplace suicide prevention, however, overly emphasises individual- and illness-directed interventions, with little attention directed to addressing the working conditions that may increase suicide risk. We conclude that a stronger emphasis on improving working conditions will be required for workplace suicide prevention to reach its full preventive potential., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Cellular Physiology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The labor market is undergoing a rapid artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. There is currently limited empirical scholarship that focuses on how AI adoption affects employment opportunities and work environments in ways that shape worker health, safety, well-being and equity. In this article, we present an agenda to guide research examining the implications of AI on the intersection between work and health. To build the agenda, a full day meeting was organized and attended by 50 participants including researchers from diverse disciplines and applied stakeholders. Facilitated meeting discussions aimed to set research priorities related to workplace AI applications and its impact on the health of workers, including critical research questions, methodological approaches, data needs, and resource requirements. Discussions also aimed to identify groups of workers and working contexts that may benefit from AI adoption as well as those that may be disadvantaged by AI. Discussions were synthesized into four research agenda areas: (1) examining the impact of stronger AI on human workers; (2) advancing responsible and healthy AI; (3) informing AI policy for worker health, safety, well-being, and equitable employment; and (4) understanding and addressing worker and employer knowledge needs regarding AI applications. The agenda provides a roadmap for researchers to build a critical evidence base on the impact of AI on workers and workplaces, and will ensure that worker health, safety, well-being, and equity are at the forefront of workplace AI system design and adoption., (© 2023 The Authors. American Journal of Industrial Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: The objective of this study was to examine individual, occupational, and workplace level factors associated with time loss following a similar injury., Methods: Seven thousand three hundred and forty-eight workers' compensation claims that did not require time off work were matched with up to four claims that required time off work on the event, nature, and part of body injured as well as injury year. Conditional logistic regression models examined individual, occupational, and workplace level factors that were associated with the likelihood of not requiring time off work., Results: Employees from firms with higher premium rates were more likely to report no time loss from work and workers in more physically demanding occupations were less likely to report no time loss from work. We observed no association between age or gender and the probability of a time loss claim submission., Conclusions: Our results suggest that insurance costs are an incentive for workplaces to adopt policies and practices that minimize time loss following a work injury., (© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: To examine if age differences in the consequences of work injury are exacerbated when occupational physical demands are higher., Methods: A secondary analysis of workers' compensation claims in British Columbia (N = 373,672). Regression models examined the relationship between age and health care expenditures, days of wage replacement and the occurrence of long-term-disability following a work-related injury in occupations with lower and higher physical demands. Models were adjusted for individual and injury related covariates., Results: Older age and higher occupational physical demands were associated with worse work-injury outcomes. The relationship between age and each outcome was not exacerbated when occupational physical demands were higher compared to when they were lower. Counter to our hypotheses age differences in health care expenditures were smaller among women in more demanding occupations., Conclusions: In this study, we found no evidence that the relationship between age and the consequences of work injury is exacerbated when physical occupational demands are high., (© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: The objective of this study was to examine and compare the demographic and labor market risks for more serious and less serious work-related injuries and illnesses., Methods: Secondary analysis of accepted workers' compensation claims in Ontario, combined with labor force estimates for the period 1991 to 2006. Serious injuries and illnesses were claims resulting in wage replacement. Less serious injuries and illnesses were claims only requiring health care. Regression models examined the relationship between demographic and labor market characteristics (age, gender, industry, job tenure, and unemployment) and claim type., Results: Relative risk estimates for serious and less serious claims were not concordant across age, gender and industry employment groups. For example, while the mining and utilities and the construction industry had an increased probability of reporting NLTCs, they had a decreased probability of reporting LTCs., Conclusions: The risk for serious and less serious work-related injury and illness claims differ by demographic and labor market groups. The use of composite measures that combine wage-replacement and health care only claims should be considered when using compensation data for surveillance and primary prevention targeting strategies., (Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Background: Impeding the use of workers' compensation databases for surveillance of cumulative trauma disorder of the upper extremity (CTDUE) is the lack of valid and reliable extraction strategies., Methods: Using the Z795-96 Coding of Work Injury or Disease Information standard, an algorithm was developed to classify claims as definite, possible, or non-CTDUE. Reliability was assessed with standardized claim reviews., Results: Moderate to substantial agreement (Kappa = 0.48, 95% CI 0.42-0.54, n = 328; weighted Kappa = 0.75, 95% CI 0.70-0.80, n = 328) was demonstrated. The algorithm produced relatively homogeneous groups of definite and non-CTDUE claims but 29.1% of the possible CTDUE claims were categorized as definite CTDUE by claim review. Part of body agreement was almost perfect (Kappa = 0.81-1.00) when determining whether the upper extremity or specific parts of the upper extremity were involved., Conclusions: The algorithm can be used to estimate the number of CTDUE and extract homogeneous groups of definite and non-CTDUE claims. Furthermore, certain upper extremity part of body codes can be used to target anatomically defined claims., (Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Background: Understanding the mediating role of health care in mitigating social, economic and occupational role disability is a complex task., Methods: No single method of research will be successful in addressing all elements of this NORA research priority area. In this paper, we argue that research methods are needed which have the following components: (1) the detailed measurement of therapeutic intervention and the impacts of this intervention on clinical and functional health status using study designs which rule out competing explanations, (2) a longitudinal follow-up component which measures social, economic, and occupational role function following the conclusion of therapy, and (3) a commitment to execute studies across multiple settings to observe the variations in health care and in social and occupational role function that arise as a result of differences in labor market factors and employer and government policies., Conclusions: More comprehensive portraits of the longitudinal trajectory of individual workers, social, economic and occupational role function following an occupational injury or illness will have significance for a large number of policy sectors., (Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

The objective of this research was to determine whether there are differences in the rate of physician-diagnosed asthma in various occupational groups. A prevalence survey using a population-based administrative database of a sample of the labor force in Manitoba, Canada was used. A sample of 22,561 individuals who were in the labor force at the time of the 1986 census were linked to the provincial administrative health database. The frequency of physician-diagnosed asthma and other obstructive respiratory conditions were measured. A case of asthma was defined as having at least three physician contacts for asthma between April 1, 1986, and March 31, 1990. Data on potential confounding factors such as age, gender, area of residence, income, and education were also available. The results showed that frequency of physician-diagnosed asthma by occupational grouping ranged from a low of 0.1/100 workers to a high of 4.8/100 workers. Three occupational groups, 1) other teaching and related occupations (SOC 279) (OR 2.54, 95% CI 1.18-5.44); 2) fabricating, installing, and repairing occupations of electrical electronic and related equipment (SOC 853) (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.05-5.33); and 3) other occupations in laboring and other elemental work (SOC 992) (OR 2.51, 95% CI 1.21-5.24) were found to have elevated odds ratios for physician-diagnosed asthma. Datasets linking occupation and health care utilization may be useful tools for surveillance of work-related diseases in general, and for asthma in particular. However, further work should be done utilizing larger databases to determine the overall usefulness of this approach.