Time trends in work-related MSK injury admissions in Victoria: Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: 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. Objective: To determine time trends in the rates of hospitalization due to work-related MSK injuries in Victoria, Australia, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Retrospective 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. 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. Conclusion: 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.