and older workers are more vulnerable to injury in the workplace,
and why this is so.
The Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research (ISCRR)
recently awarded the study a development grant.
Senior research fellow Dr Peter Smith, Department of Epidemiology and
Preventive Medicine at Monash University, said that his project would
develop a way to measure increased risk of injury or illness among specific
groups of workers.
“Subgroups of the labour market, for example younger workers, new workers,
immigrants and other minorities are often considered vulnerable in terms of injury
risk,” Dr Smith said.
“Yet this grouping of workers as ‘young’ or ‘new’ and so on, does not identify
the specific characteristics that put these workers at higher risk of experiencing a
work-related injury.”
“This study will help us understand how the social and structural context at work
can lead to an increased risk of injury and will help to develop preventative
activities in the future.”
Dr Smith has extensive experience conducting research related to work injury
and its consequences using both large population based survey and administrative
workers’ compensation data.
“My other main research area is to examine the implications of the ageing labour
marking in Australian on workers’ compensation systems,” Dr Smith said.
“This project seeks to better understand important questions related to work injury
and its consequences within the context of the ageing Australian labour market.”
Between 1985 and 2008 the per cent of the Australian labour force represented
by workers over the age of 55 years increased from 9.2 per cent to 15.2 per cent.
“Despite this large demographic shift in the labour market, very little attention has
been paid to understanding the implications that the ageing workforce in Australia
will have on occupational health and safety prevention programs and work-injury
compensation systems,” Dr Smith said.
To address this need, the objective of Dr Smith’s research program is to examine
trends in work injury rates and the consequences of work injury across age groups
in Australia.
ISCRR is a joint venture between Monash University, WorkSafe Victoria and the
Transport Accident Commission (TAC).
Monash University.
recently awarded the study a development grant.
Senior research fellow Dr Peter Smith, Department of Epidemiology and
Preventive Medicine at Monash University, said that his project would
develop a way to measure increased risk of injury or illness among specific
groups of workers.
“Subgroups of the labour market, for example younger workers, new workers,
immigrants and other minorities are often considered vulnerable in terms of injury
risk,” Dr Smith said.
“Yet this grouping of workers as ‘young’ or ‘new’ and so on, does not identify
the specific characteristics that put these workers at higher risk of experiencing a
work-related injury.”
“This study will help us understand how the social and structural context at work
can lead to an increased risk of injury and will help to develop preventative
activities in the future.”
Dr Smith has extensive experience conducting research related to work injury
and its consequences using both large population based survey and administrative
workers’ compensation data.
“My other main research area is to examine the implications of the ageing labour
marking in Australian on workers’ compensation systems,” Dr Smith said.
“This project seeks to better understand important questions related to work injury
and its consequences within the context of the ageing Australian labour market.”
Between 1985 and 2008 the per cent of the Australian labour force represented
by workers over the age of 55 years increased from 9.2 per cent to 15.2 per cent.
“Despite this large demographic shift in the labour market, very little attention has
been paid to understanding the implications that the ageing workforce in Australia
will have on occupational health and safety prevention programs and work-injury
compensation systems,” Dr Smith said.
To address this need, the objective of Dr Smith’s research program is to examine
trends in work injury rates and the consequences of work injury across age groups
in Australia.
ISCRR is a joint venture between Monash University, WorkSafe Victoria and the
Transport Accident Commission (TAC).
Monash University.
No comments:
Post a Comment