Comparing profiles of mental illness and positive mental health between injured workers and the general working population in Ontario

BACKGROUND: Mental illness (MI) is prevalent among workers with work-related injury. However, complete mental health includes both MI and positive mental health (PMH). To better understand differences in prevalence, this study compared MI and PMH profiles among injured Ontario workers to a representative sample of the general Ontario working population. METHODS: We studied 1132 Ontario workers with a physical work-related injury from the Ontario Life After Work Injury Study (OLAWIS) and 1652 general workers in compensation-covered industries from the 2012 Mental Health Canadian Community Health Survey (MH-CCHS). MI was self-reported 18 months post-injury as a mood or anxiety disorder diagnosed pre- or post-injury in OLAWIS and defined as a major depressive episode or generalized anxiety disorder in MH-CCHS. PMH was measured in both samples using the Mental Health Continuum Short Form. Latent class analysis in each sample identified MI and PMH profiles, and chi-square tests assessed within- and between-sample differences. RESULTS: Three MI and PMH classes were identified in the OLAWIS sample, whereas four MI and three PMH classes were identified in the MH-CCHS sample. Compared with general workers, more injured workers belonged to high-burden MI classes (19% vs. 9%) and the languishing PMH class (11% vs. 4%). Injured workers reported lower emotional and psychological well-being but higher belonging than general workers. CONCLUSIONS: Most workers showed low MI and flourishing PMH, but injured workers more often showed high MI and languishing PMH. Targeting aspects of psychological and emotional well-being may help improve overall mental health among injured workers