Poor mental health is a common occurrence among workers recovering from a work-related injury or illness. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the association between adverse interactions with workers’ compensation case managers and experiencing a serious mental illness 18-months following a workplace injury or illness. A cohort of 996 workers’ compensation claimants in Ontario Canada were interviewed 18 months following a disabling work-related injury or illness. Perceptions of informational and interpersonal justice in case manager interactions were defined as the primary independent variables, and Kessler Psychological Distress (K6) scores greater than 12, indicative of a serious mental illness, was defined as the outcome. Multivariate modified Poisson models estimated the association between perceptions of adverse case manager interactions and a serious mental illness, following adjustment for sociodemographic and work characteristics and pre-injury mental health. The prevalence of serious mental illness at 18 months was 16.6%. Low perceptions of informational justice, reported by 14.4% of respondents, were associated with a 2.58 times higher risk of serious mental illness (95% CI 1.30–5.10). Moderate and low perceptions of interpersonal justice, reported by 44.1% and 9.2% of respondents respectively, were associated with a 2.01 and 3.57 times higher risk of serious mental illness (95% CI moderate: 1.18–3.44, 95% CI poor: 1.81–7.06). This study provides further support for the impact of poor interactions with claims case managers on mental health, highlighting the importance of open and fair communication with workers’ compensation claimants in ensuring timely recovery and return-to-work.

心理健康状况不佳是从与工作有关的伤害或疾病中恢复过来的工人中常见的情况。这项横断面研究的目的是估计与工伤赔偿案件经理的不利互动与在工作场所受伤或患病 18 个月后经历严重精神疾病之间的关联。在与工作相关的伤害或疾病致残后 18 个月，对加拿大安大略省 996 名工人赔偿索赔人的队列进行了采访。个案经理互动中对信息和人际公正的看法被定义为主要的自变量，凯斯勒心理困扰 (K6) 得分大于 12，表明严重的精神疾病，被定义为结果。在对社会人口统计学和工作特征以及受伤前的心理健康进行调整后，多变量修正泊松模型估计了对不良个案经理互动的看法与严重精神疾病之间的关联。18 个月时严重精神疾病的患病率为 16.6%。14.4% 的受访者表示，对信息公正的低认知与 2.58 倍的严重精神疾病风险相关（95% CI 1.30–5.10）。44.1% 和 9.2% 的受访者分别表示对人际公正的中等和低度认知与严重精神疾病风险高 2.01 和 3.57 倍相关（95% CI 中等：1.18-3.44，95% CI 差：1.81- 7.06）。这项研究进一步支持了与索赔案件经理的不良互动对心理健康的影响，