Gender differences in surgery for work-related musculoskeletal injury

March 2020: A new paper by PWHS PhD graduate Andrea Jones examines if women are less likely than men to receive surgery following work-related musculoskeletal injury to the knee (meniscal tear), back (thoracic/lumbar disc displacement), or shoulder (rotator cuff tear) in BC.

Published in Healthcare Policy, the study found that for each injury type, a smaller proportion of women received surgery compared to men: for knee surgeries, 76% vs. 80%; for back surgeries, 13% vs. 19%; and for shoulder surgeries, 13% vs. 36%. In models adjusted for factors known to influence surgery decisions (e.g. age and history of injuries), women were still less likely than men to receive knee (13% less likely), back (46%), or shoulder (65%) surgery.

Strategies to ensure gender equitable delivery of surgical services by workers’ compensation systems may be warranted, although further research is necessary to investigate determinants of the gender difference and the impact of elective orthopaedic surgery on occupational outcomes.

Learn more about our work on sex and gender differences in : Gender, sex, and occupational health

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