Risk factors for occupational injuries in schools among educators and support staff

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Public Health
• Educational Administration

Background:

• School districts employ diverse staff, including educators and various support roles (e.g., educational assistants, custodians, food service, bus drivers).
• These employees undertake varied tasks, exposing them to a wide range of work-related risks and injuries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate risk factors for injury and severity among school district employees.
• To compare injury risks across different job classifications, demographics, and district types.

Main Methods:

• Coupled workers' compensation data with Minnesota Department of Education employee data.
• Utilized negative binomial regression to calculate injury rates and rate ratios, controlling for district and employee variables.
• Analyzed injury cause, nature, and body part for incidence and frequency.

Main Results:

• Metropolitan area districts showed higher employee injury risk (RR=1.35).
• Support roles, especially food service (RR=5.14), custodial (RR=3.85), and transportation (RR=4.15), had significantly higher injury risks than educators.
• Falls/slips and strains/sprains were common injury causes/natures, with upper extremities being the most frequent body part injured.

Conclusions:

• School support staff, compared to educators, face elevated risks of injury, including lost-time injuries.
• Injury prevention efforts in schools should prioritize high-risk job classifications.
• Understanding specific hazards for different roles is key to effective safety interventions.