View article

This research investigates the changing burden of work-related disability in Canada and Australia and how this varies by gender and age. The secondary objective is to demonstrate a means of comparing work disability data internationally.

Workers’ compensation data from Canada and Australia were used to analyse the relative disability burden of workers injured between 2004 and 2010. The two measures used were the number of claims with compensated time-loss and the corresponding time-loss years accrued, indexed to 2004. Gender and age-stratified analyses were conducted using descriptive statistics.

Male workers had more claims and cumulative time-loss in both countries. They also had steeper reductions in claim volumes and cumulative time-loss over time, indicating a narrowing in overall gender differences. Age-stratified analysis showed that differences between men …