OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES AMONG OLDER WORKERS WITH VISUAL, AUDITORY, AND OTHER IMPAIRMENTS - A VALIDATION-STUDY

This study aims to validate a previously defined model of the risk of occupational injuries among older workers with visual, auditory, or ot her impairments. That model was based upon the Health and Retirement S tudy (HRS). The previous logistic regression model was recalculated us ing data from the 1994 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The pa rameter estimates for impaired hewing (1.81 in NHIS, 1.55 in HRS), imp aired vision (2.42 in NHIS, 1.48 in HRS), and self-employment (0.22 in NHIS, 0.49 in HRS) were in same direction and of roughly the same mag nitude. The previously defined model was confirmed using NHIS data. Th e data suggest that as the workforce ages, more attention must be paid to the accommodation of disabilities in the workplace, especially sen sory impairments-poor vision and hearing.