Student-inflicted injuries to staff in schools: comparing risk between educators and non-educators

Work-related injuries in the Australian education sector: A retrospective cohort study

INTRODUCTION

Educators are exposed to several work-related hazards. Evidence suggests musculoskeletal pain, psychological distress, and student-inflicted violence-related injuries are common. However, there is little evidence on the burden of workplace injury among Australian educators.

AIM

To compare incidence of injury claims and duration of compensated time off work between educators and non-educators, and associated factors.

METHODS

Retrospective cohort study of 1,559,676 Australian workers' compensation claims, including 84,915 educator claims, lodged between July 2009 to June 2015, from the National Dataset for Compensation-based Statistics. Cases were included if aged 18+ years and working in the education sector less than 100 h per week. Negative binomial regression models estimated the relative risk of making a compensation claim and survival analyses calculated disability duration within educators by sex, age, injury type and mechanism, socioeconomic area, remoteness, and jurisdiction.

RESULTS

Compared to non-educators, educators had lower rates of injury claims and shorter disability durations. However, educators had a higher rate of claims for mental health conditions and assault, with the highest risk being among those in special education and education aides. Among educators, injury claim rates were highest among special educators, education aides, and secondary educators.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Though surveys indicate Australians in the education sector have higher incidences of work-related injuries, this study found lower incidence of injury claims and shorter disability durations than others. Educators' injury-reporting and absenteeism behaviors may be constrained by ethical, social, and administrative attitudes. Educators had higher rates of claims for mental health and assault-related injury, particularly special educators, and education aides, which suggests a need for targeted prevention efforts.

Risk factors for occupational injuries in schools among educators and support staff

INTRODUCTION

School districts employ a large number of employees who work in educational (e.g., teachers) or other support roles, including educational assistants, custodians, food service, bus drivers, and community and recreation workers. District employees perform a wide array of job tasks and experience a wide spectrum of work-related risks and injuries.

METHODS

Workers' compensation data were coupled with Minnesota Department of Education district employee denominator data to evaluate risk factors for injury and severity. Variables included district location and type, employee job classification, age, and gender. Rates of injury and rate ratios were calculated to measure comparative injury risk using negative binomial regression and 95% confidence internals. Incidence and frequency of injury cause, nature, and body part we calculated.

RESULTS

Saint Paul and Minneapolis metropolitan area (versus non-metro) districts had higher risk (RR = 1.35, 95%CI = 1.18-1.54) of employee injuries. All job classifications in support roles had increased risk of injury claims versus educators, however food service (RR = 5.14, 95%CI = 4.61-5.74), custodial (RR = 3.85, 95%CI = 3.41-4.34), and transportation (RR = 4.15, 95%CI = 3.38-5.10) exhibited the highest comparative risk to educators; significant risk of lost-time injury was also present in these workers. Males and females had similar risk of injury for all claims, however males had elevated risk of lost-time injury (RR = 1.46, 95%CI = 1.26-1.69) versus females. All age groups >41-years-old exhibited increased risk of injury as compared to 31-40-year-olds. The magnitude of lost-time injury risk also increased with age. Falls and slips (29.1%), strains/sprains/ruptures (45.2%), and upper extremities (31.3%) most frequent cause, nature, and body part injured, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Characteristics of districts, schools, workers, and their jobs tasks and hazards vary. Many categories of support staff in schools have elevated risk of injury, including lost-time injury, as compared to educators. Practical Applications: Injury prevention in schools should be approached by targeting job classifications; high risk jobs can be prioritized for prevention.

Investigating Physical Violence Against Classroom and Other School Personnel Using Ohio Workers' Compensation Data: 2001-2012

This study uses workers' compensation data to explore the extent, severity, and context of violence-related injuries sustained by classroom (teachers and aides) and other personnel (e.g., administrators, education support specialists, security, custodial and maintenance workers, food workers) in Ohio's K-12 urban public schools. The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation provided access to claims filed by workers from the state's nine urban school districts from January 01, 2001 to December 31, 2012 (N = 19,508). Injury trends were explored with descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses. Approximately 25% of all claims filed were violence-related. Overall, violence-related injury rates remained relatively stable from the 2001-2002 to the 2011-2012 academic year. However, the odds of victimization for classroom personnel were 1.84 times the odds of victimization for other personnel. For both classroom and other personnel, the most commonly-sustained injuries resulting from a violent event included contusions; sprains to the neck, back, and upper or lower extremities, and open wounds. Most violence-related injuries were sustained during direct contact with students displaying escalated or aggressive behavior, or during efforts to de-escalate third-party violence. Implications of using workers' compensation data to inform workplace violence research and practice are discussed.