Citation

Bedno SA, Forst L, Mallon T. J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2019; 61(6): 491-498.

Affiliation

Department of Public Health, Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina (Dr Bedno); Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (Dr Forst); Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Maryland (Dr Mallon).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/JOM.0000000000001592

PMID

31166281

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Workers' compensation (WC) processes do not lead to maximal return-to-work or cost savings. The aim of this study is to assess barriers and facilitators to reporting and managing injuries and illnesses among civilian employees in the US Army.

METHODS: We triangulated a review of policy and practice documents, stakeholder interviews, a descriptive analysis of WC data, and a literature review to inform recommendations of best practices for improving return-to-work and lowering WC costs.

RESULTS: Federal WC costs are trending downward for civilian employees in the US Army; however, the approaches are not uniform or optimized, especially at the installation level.

CONCLUSIONS: This mixed methods evaluation of the Department of Defense WC elucidates areas for improvement and potential best practices within the Federal WC system.

Language: en