| Autor: |
Alleyne BC; Alberta Community and Occupational Health, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada., Dufresne RM, Kanji N, Reesal MR |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Zdroj: |
Journal of occupational medicine. : official publication of the Industrial Medical Association [J Occup Med] 1989 Feb; Vol. 31 (2), pp. 134-8. |
| Abstrakt: |
Much has been written about the merits, needs, adequacy, and effectiveness of hearing conservation programs but very little about the cost of noise-induced hearing loss. Using claims for hearing loss submitted to a Canadian compensation board for a 5-years period (1979 to 1983), we estimated the current cost per claim to be $14,106. We observed an annual increase of 20.4% for noise-induced hearing loss claims and project that if 80% of the 450 claims submitted in 1987 are accepted, it will commit the Workers' Compensation Board in Alberta to a cost of $5,373,360--a considerable commitment for a disease that makes up only 0.3% of all claims. As a measure of morbidity we determined the years of potential hearing loss. The 207 workers between the ages of 18 and 70 years who were pensioned had a potential hearing loss value of 2529 years. Some authors have expressed the view that hearing loss is currently inadequately compensated and our review of the literature suggests that a fertile climate is emerging for increasing litigation. This tendency is likely to lead to further escalation of costs if prevention is not taken more seriously. |
| Databáze: |
MEDLINE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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