A Systems Evaluation of Occupational Injuries and Illness in the US Army

Objective: Workers' compensation (WC) processes do not lead to maximal return-to-work or cost savings. The aim of this study is to assess barriers and facilitators to reporting and managing injuries and illnesses among civilian employees in the US Army. Methods: We triangulated a review of policy and practice documents, stakeholder interviews, a descriptive analysis of WC data, and a literature review to inform recommendations of best practices for improving return-to-work and lowering WC costs. Results: Federal WC costs are trending downward for civilian employees in the US Army; however, the approaches are not uniform or optimized, especially at the installation level. Conclusions: This mixed methods evaluation of the Department of Defense WC elucidates areas for improvement and potential best practices within the Federal WC system.