Work Disability Duration Among Mobile Workers

Abstract

Objective The aim of the study is to compare work disability duration of intraprovincially and interprovincially mobile workers with nonmobile workers in British Columbia, Canada. Methods Workers’ compensation claims were extracted for workers injured between 2010 and 2019. Employer and residential postal codes were converted to economic regions to define nonmobile, intraprovincially, and interprovincially mobile workers. Quantile regression models using matched cohorts were used to estimate differences in work disability days at different percentiles of the distribution. Results Compared with nonmobile workers, both mobile worker groups had longer work disability durations, particularly interprovincially mobile workers. Differences persisted in injury-stratified models and were partially or fully attenuated in some industry-stratified models. Conclusions Workers’ compensation systems, employers, and healthcare providers may need to tailor specific interventions for mobile workers who are from out-of-province as well as traveling between regions in the province.