Filing a Workers' Compensation Claim for Low Back Pain and Associated Factors: Analysis of 2015 National Health Interview Survey.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the degree of reporting work-related low back pain (LBP) by workers' compensation (WC) claim filing and associated factors among US workers. We conducted multivariable logistic regression using the 2015 National Health Interview Survey data. Among 1203 US workers with self-reported work-related LBP diagnosis, only 19.6% filed for WC. Compared with non-Hispanic White workers, Black, Asian, and Hispanic workers were less likely to file for WC. Workers' compensation filing was less frequent among workers in independent work arrangement and who stopped working, changed jobs, or made a change in work and more frequent among workers 45 to 64 years of age and having high LBP frequency. Our study findings suggest underreporting of work-related LBP to the WC system is common. Barriers to WC filing should be addressed especially for racial/ethnic minorities and independent workers.