Injuries from Construction Falls: Functional Limitations and Return to Work

Abstract

Finding a measure that distinguishes well between the severity levels of less serious injuries such as those found in occupational settings has been problematic. In this study of 255 construction workers who sustained nonfatal falls at work, two measures of injury severity were used — the Injury Severity Score (ISS) and the disability index of the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), a functional limitation measure. The HAQ scores were more normally distributed than the ISS and provided useful information about the degree to which workers were disabled from falls during their first week of recovery. The mean HAQ score was 1.46 (SD = 0.75) on a scale of 0 to 3, with higher numbers representing more limited functioning. With regard to individual tasks, participants reported having the most difficulty performing heavy chores (mean = 1.89; SD = 1.02), dressing themselves (mean = 1.54; SD = 1.05), and bending to pick up clothing from the floor (mean = 1.40; SD = 1.02). The HAQ scores were significantly and moderately correlated with days lost from work (r = .52; p <.001). Unexpectedly, 97 workers reported that they were able to return to light or modified duty following their falls.