Arbeitsmedizin und Gesundheitsangelegenheiten

Abstrakt

Characterizing University and College Student Employee Injuries: Methods and Challenges

Steven M Thygerson and Judy Ou

The purpose of this study was to characterize occupational injuries among university and college student employees. Participants: Undergraduate and graduate students employed at a large university who filed a workers’ compensation claim between 2005 and 2008. Methods: A total of 1,210 university student employee claims were analyzed. Frequencies and rates were calculated to obtain information about injuries, such as the specific part of body, the specific nature of injury, the general part of body, the general nature of injury, and costs. Results: Frequencies of injury were higher during the spring/summer term. Injury rates during the spring/ summer term were more than twice the general industry national average. Student employees aged 22 to 23 years filed twice as many claims as 18 to 19 year old student employees. Conclusions: Interventions, such as cut and puncture injury prevention programs, should be implemented at colleges and universities to control for student employee injuries, especially during spring/summer terms. Impact on industry: College and university administrators, healthcare professionals and safety personnel should develop uniform methods of tracking college and university student employee injuries in order to develop programs aimed at preventing injuries and illnesses to this unique population of workers.