O-352 Evaluating program effectiveness on return-to-work after work-related injury in the construction sector

Introduction Return-to-work (RTW) in the construction sector is more challenging than in many other sectors. Between 2010 and 2011, the Ontario Workplace Safety Insurable Board (WSIB) introduced the Work Reintegration (WR) program in an attempt to improve RTW outcomes for injured workers. Objective To determine whether the WR program was associated with reducing work disability duration in the Ontario construction sector. Methods WSIB claims data were extracted for construction workers compensated for time off work following work-related injuries betwen the years 2009 and 2015 (n=27,131). Claims receiving referrals to return-to-work (RTW) and vocational rehabilitation (VR) specialists were propensity score matched with claims receiving no referrals. Multivariable quantile regression models were used to examine differences in the cumulative disability days paid during two-years post-injury between the groups of claims before and fater the WR intervention period and the differences in these differences. Results Prior to the WR program, cumulative disability days paid was greatest among claims referred to VR specialists, followed by claims referred to RTW specialists (390 and 109 additional days than claims with no referrals, respectively). Following the WR program intervention, cumulative disability days paid reduced for all claims but most notably among longer duration claims referred to RTW specialists (reduction of 274 days at the 90th percentile in the disability distribution) and shorter duration claims referred to VR specialists (reductions of 255 and 214 days at the 25th and 50th percentiles in the disability distribution, respectively). Conclusion The WR program intervention was effective in reducing the cumulative disability days paid for construction worker claims targeted under the various referrals. While the effects varied at different percentiles in the disability distribution, and by specialist referral, future research should examine the type and timing of services received to more fully understand what may be driving the overall findings.