ABSTRACT

Objective: This study analyzed trends in the year of treatment completion in patients with occupational hand injuries using the second and third PSWCI cohorts. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 1,967 patients with occupational hand injuries from the PSWCI. To examine baseline trends, frequency analyses of the demographic factors, occupational injuries, vocational rehabilitation, and job characteristics were conducted. To analyze the changes in characteristics according to the closure year of workers’ compensation treatment, data from 2017 and 2022 were compared using the chi-square test.Results: In 2022, among individuals who completed workers’ compensation treatment, the proportions of those aged 60 years or older, unmarried, and with a college education or higher increased. In this group, work-related diseases increased, and the treatment duration was longer. No significant differences were observed in vocational rehabilitation. The proportion of hand injuries in the first workplace decreased. Whereas hand injuries increased in the first two month of employment.Conclusion: This study identified changes in the characteristics of patients with occupational hand injuries, indicating the need to strengthen hand injury prevention education and improve workers’ compensation medical delivery systems to enhance effective hand therapy and facilitate return to work.