Background and Purpose: Billions of dollars are spent annually for medical costs and indirect costs associated with work injury. The current economic climate and discussion of raising the retirement age may necessitate the worker to continue in the work force to an older age. The purpose of this study was to define similarities and differences in the prevalence, cost, length of time off work, and cause of work injuries common to the older worker as compared to the younger worker. Subjects and Methods: All injured employees in the state of North Dakota working in health care facilities during the fiscal year July 1, 1999, to June 30, 2000, were considered for inclusion in the data analysis. Subjects were categorized according to age: less than 40 years, 40-59 years of age, and over 60 years of age. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used to investigate differences among age groups relative to the prevalence of injury, cost of injury, cause of injury, and body part injured. Results: The largest number of injuries occured in the youngest age group. There was no significant differences in totoal cost between the younger and older age group; however, a Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA demonstrated a significant difference in total cost between the youngest and middle-aged group with the middle-aged group experiencing the highest total cost. There were no significant differences in days off work among the groups. A Chi-square Test of Independence demonstrated a significant relationship between age and cause of injury and between age and body part injured. Conclusion: The total cost of a work injury, body part injured, and cause of work injury were related to age. Time off work following injury was not related to age. The middle-aged health care worker experienced the highest work injury costs. The older worker was more likely to sustain an injury as a result of a slip or fall and the younger worker was more likely than the older worker to sustain an injury due to a strain. Even though the upper extremity was the most common body part injured across age groups, the older workers were more likely to sustain an injury to the lower extremity, while the younger worker was more likely to sustain an injury to the spine. An understanding of the injury profile is necessary to develop and injury prevention program to meet the needs of the employee and the work setting.
