{
    "abstract": "Work-related musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries pose significant challenges to workers' health, productivity, and healthcare systems. Increased working from home since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the incidence and prevalence of work-related MSK injuries. Despite workers' compensation systems providing valuable data, underreporting remains a concern, necessitating additional data sources such as hospital admissions to better understand the burden of MSK injuries.\nTo determine time trends in the rates of hospitalization due to work-related MSK injuries in Victoria, Australia, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.\nRetrospective administrative data analysis was conducted using data from the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset (VAED). Adults (aged 15+ years) hospital admissions between July 2012 and June 2022 were included. Interrupted time series analysis was employed to evaluate changes in monthly incidence rates of hospital admissions for work-related MSK injuries before and during the pandemic.\nA total of 67,689 index hospital admissions for work-related MSK injuries were recorded in the study period, with an average of 6,769 annually. Acute injuries were predominant during the pandemic, accounting for 63.6 % of cases compared to 60.1 % before the pandemic. Over ten years, the average annual incidence rate of acute MSK injuries was 13.20 cases per 10,000 workers, while cumulative injuries showed a rate of 8.62 cases per 10,000 workers. Comparing pre-pandemic and pandemic periods, the average annual incidence rate of acute MSK injuries increased, while cumulative injuries decreased.\nThe study observed a gradual decrease in the overall incidence rate of hospital admissions for cumulative work-related MSK injuries over the last decade. Despite expectations of disruptions, no significant deviations in MSK injury trends were observed following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria, Australia.",
    "authors": [
        {
            "affiliation": "Healthy Working Lives Research Group, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.",
            "firstname": "Asmare",
            "initials": "A",
            "lastname": "Gelaw"
        },
        {
            "affiliation": "Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.",
            "firstname": "Karen",
            "initials": "K",
            "lastname": "Walker-Bone"
        },
        {
            "affiliation": "Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Monash University Accident Research Centre, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: Janneke.Berecki-Gisolf@monash.edu.",
            "firstname": "Janneke",
            "initials": "J",
            "lastname": "Berecki-Gisolf"
        }
    ],
    "conclusions": "The study observed a gradual decrease in the overall incidence rate of hospital admissions for cumulative work-related MSK injuries over the last decade. Despite expectations of disruptions, no significant deviations in MSK injury trends were observed following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria, Australia.",
    "copyrights": "Copyright \u00a9 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.",
    "doi": "10.1016/j.injury.2024.112035",
    "journal": "Injury",
    "keywords": [
        "Acute injuries cumulative injuries",
        "COVID-19 pandemic",
        "Hospital admissions",
        "Incidence trends",
        "Injury prevention",
        "Musculoskeletal injuries",
        "Occupational health",
        "Remote work impact",
        "Work-related injuries"
    ],
    "methods": null,
    "publication_date": "2024-12-02",
    "pubmed_id": "39616956",
    "results": "A total of 67,689 index hospital admissions for work-related MSK injuries were recorded in the study period, with an average of 6,769 annually. Acute injuries were predominant during the pandemic, accounting for 63.6 % of cases compared to 60.1 % before the pandemic. Over ten years, the average annual incidence rate of acute MSK injuries was 13.20 cases per 10,000 workers, while cumulative injuries showed a rate of 8.62 cases per 10,000 workers. Comparing pre-pandemic and pandemic periods, the average annual incidence rate of acute MSK injuries increased, while cumulative injuries decreased.",
    "title": "Time trends in work-related MSK injury admissions in Victoria: Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.",
    "xml": "<Element 'PubmedArticle' at 0x788506b86390>"
}