Work rehabilitation for migrant workers with work injury--the magic of Chinese paper cutting

As China has gradually transformed from agricultural economy into industrial economy since 1978, occupational injuries and diseases become a serious social problem in China. For occupational rehabilitation professionals, helping workers with occupational injuries and diseases, return to work and re-integrate to community are the ultimate goals of occupational rehabilitation. This article reports a new indigenous initiative with cultural notions in occupational rehabilitation piloted by Guangdong Provincial Rehabilitation Center. Case studies reflected that by learning and practicing traditional Chinese paper cutting, workers with occupational injury and disease could regain their self confidence, identity their strengths, learn more vocational skills as well as to re-integrate into community.     

Work injury rehabilitation in Guangzhou: 380 case cohort study

Work injury rehabilitation is a new concept in Mainland China. In 2001, the first work injury rehabilitation centre was established in Guangzhou under the management of the Guanghzhou Bureau of Labour and Security. This paper reviews the profile of a cohort of workers with injuries who received rehabilitation services at this centre. The changes in the physical capacity, daily function, and quality of life of the workers with injuries before and after the treatment services were also reviewed. A total of 380 were extracted from the database which occupied 79% of the total patient population admitted to the centre between 2003 to 2004. The assessment results suggested that workers with injuries showed increases in physical capacity in terms of the range of motion, muscle strength and walking tolerance. The daily functioning by using Barthel Index was also improved. Quality of life assessed with the WHOQOL also demonstrated an increase in the physical and psychological domains. Work injury rehabilitation in Guangzhou is at its infancy stage. The cooperation between the rehabilitation centre, employers and workers is of the utmost importance for a successful return to work outcome. The workers' compensation and rehabilitation policy also dictates the future of success of the rehabilitation services.     

Summary report of action research on occupational rehabilitation and community re-integration of migrant workers with work injuries in Mainland China

This article is a summary of an action research exploring the strategies to initiate the occupational rehabilitation and community re-integration of migrant workers with work injuries in Guangdong Province, China. Using two cases of rehabilitation intervention for workers with work injury, a case management model of occupational rehabilitation and community re-integration was illustrated, in the different phases of rehabilitation. Finally, some key elements in supporting occupational rehabilitation and community re-integration for migrant workers with work injury in China were highlighted.     

An investigation of a workplace-based return-to-work program for shoulder injuries

The purpose of this study was to investigate and evaluate the current workplace management of rotator cuff injuries in a manufacturing plant. The secondary aims were to examine the impact of the company's return-to-work processes, compare outcomes to current industry standards for work (re)entry and to identify the components that characterized this workplace-based return-to-work (RTW) program. This investigation involved a case study approach comprised of an examination of the program context using interviews, onsite visits, a document review and a retrospective analysis of the RTW experiences of 184 workers with shoulder injuries. Findings revealed that the workplace-based RTW program was consistent with and shaped by the organizational culture of problem solving, knowledge exchange and equitable participation of workers, supervisors and health professionals. These components contributed to the program in achieving the following outcomes for workers with shoulder injuries. One-third of workers were placed on modified duties within three days, 56% of workers who engaged in an early RTW program returned to work within one month. Overall, 87.8% of workers with rotator cuff injuries successfully returned to pre-injury work. The implications of developing capacity for workplace-based programs to manage injuries at work are discussed.     

A return to work program for injured workers: a reassignment model

The current workers' compensation system does not encourage permanently restricted workers who are disabled due to work related injuries to return to work. Workers are often labeled permanently disabled and are released from their positions with their employers. However, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, these individuals may be qualified to return to productive employment. This paper will describe a Reassignment Model for occupational therapy supported by the rehabilitation frame of reference. This Model presents reassignment to a vacant position as a reasonable accommodation to return injured workers to productive employment. A case study will illustrate the successful implementation of the model. The potential benefits of using this Model will be described for clients, society, employers, and the occupational therapy profession.     

Barriers to returning to work for people with spinal cord injuries: a focus group study

The rate of employment for people with spinal cord injuries is relatively low, especially among Asians. To help individuals with spinal cord injuries return to work or retain employment, rehabilitation professionals must understand the barriers to employment and intervene to reduce or remove them. Hence, a focus group study was administered to 16 people with spinal cord injuries to explore return to work barriers. Various ideas, beliefs, responses, and values at different stages of work resettlement were elicited from both employed and unemployed participants, and then summarized. According to the results, several modifications of existing forms of rehabilitation intervention are necessary, as are further research directions.     

Perspectives on workplace disability management: a review of the literature

Work-related musculoskeletal injuries represent a major source of work disability. While many employers recognize the importance of workplace disability management approaches and are assuming greater responsibility for preventing and minimizing work-related disability, questions about the effectiveness of these interventions exist. The purposes of this article are to: 1) describe the essential components of workplace disability management programs related to musculoskeletal injuries; 2) review the literature on disability management practices based on research evidence by focussing on workplace-based interventions and the role of the workplace; and 3) provide recommendations for disability management in the prevention and reduction of disability, and the rehabilitation of injured workers with musculoskeletal work injuries. The literature suggests that employer participation, a supportive work climate and cooperation between labour and management are crucial factors in facilitating return to work. Given the complexity of the disability management process and the numbers of individuals involved, it is essential that all workplace parties work together to achieve the goal of safe and early return to work.     

Work injury rehabilitation and the tendency to return to work of workers with injuries in Mainland China

This paper aims to describe the current situation of the work injury rehabilitation system in China with its drawbacks, especially relating to the employment services for workers with injuries and bringing up the topic of the need for more work to attempt to construct a modern work injury occupational rehabilitation system: perfecting the administration mechanism of policy, establishing an occupational rehabilitation pattern with Chinese characteristics, establishing the socialization service network as the core of occupational rehabilitation and establishing a practical professional team and academic communication platform. These creative thoughts may shed light on the development of the work injury rehabilitation system as well as the return to work for workers with injuries in China.     

Trauma symptomatology: implications for return to work

Research has suggested that individuals who experience work related injuries may be at an increased risk for developing trauma symptoms or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The purpose of this article is to provide a brief overview of PTSD from both a categorical and dimensional perspective and discuss implications for rehabilitation planning with workers with industrial injuries. The negative impact of trauma symptoms and PTSD is profiled according the following four areas that are important for effective career and vocational behavior: (a) making occupational adjustments, (b) adjusting performance to meet specific work demands, (c) utilizing appropriate social and interpersonal skills in the work setting, and (d) meeting the production and time requirements associated with the specific job. Recommendations are then offered to increase the effectiveness of rehabilitation professionals working with industrial injured workers who may be experiencing trauma symptoms or PTSD.     

Case report: a work simulation program for a manual worker with a fracture injury

Work rehabilitation programs targeting different client groups are available in nearly all major hospital occupational therapy departments in Hong Kong. Clients receiving work rehabilitation are referred from various out-patient clinics and other occupational therapists. Those clients experience limitation in work after their injuries or diseases and plan to return to work after rehabilitation. Program objectives are 1) to assist clients to reach maximum work capacity as rapidly as possible 2) to ensure clients return to work safely 3) to improve clients' work readiness. This case report describes an individualized work simulation program at a general hospital in Hong Kong provided for a typical client who is preparing to return to his worker role. Specific job analysis, goals and program rationale for the client are discussed.     

Managing Employee Absence

ABSTRACT

Employee absences represent a major concern for employers due to financial losses, both direct and indirect. Absences occur for several reasons; however, perhaps the most significant loss of work time is attributed to work related injuries. This paper addresses losses due to injury and proposes a plan of action for effective cost containment involving rehabilitation case management and early return to work.     

Worker skill and client outcome in child protection

The research in child protection and in work with other involuntary clients suggests that the use of certain skills by child protection workers is likely to be related to positive client outcomes. In particular, effective practice involves: helping clients and client families to understand the role of the child protection worker; working through a problem‐solving process which focuses on the client's rather than the worker's definitions of problems; reinforcing the client's pro‐social expression and actions; making appropriate use of confrontation; and using these skills within a collaborative client/worker relationship. This study attempts to identify the extent to which child protection workers make use of these skills and how these skills relate to client outcomes. Data were sought through 50 interviews with child protection workers and 282 interviews with family members. The child protection workers provided information about 247 client families. It was clear that when workers used the skills, their clients had better outcomes—the workers believed their clients showed better progress, the clients were more satisfied with the outcomes and the cases were more likely to have been closed 16 months later. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Participatory ergonomics and design of technical assistance

This work describes the experience of application of a procedural initiative, which aimed to identify and address technical assistance needs progressively in therapy and rehabilitation activities. The proposal theoretical axes are the basics of participatory ergonomics and interdisciplinary work, was raised with the intention of addressing important issues for the entire design process including: perception, attention, memory and human being comfort, and the interrelationships that create objects in the context in which they are used. This project was done in collaboration with leading institutes for the rehabilitation of Colombia: Cirec and Roosevelt, through two investigative stages: a first ethnographic stage, during which were observed one hundred forty four (144) procedures of rehabilitation and therapy to build a bank of assistive technology needs, justified on the project observation variables. And a second stage of action research in which they were designed elements that facilitate the implementation of rehabilitation procedures efficiently. Currently being developed experiential situations in different hospitals to examine the reliability of the proposed solutions.     

Communication of Ergonomics in building and construction

For the coming years SWEA is planning for communication and information actions. One of the sectors concerned is the building and construction industry. Focus of the information is to avoid accidents and injuries, and how companies by themselves can prevent risks. The objective of the information is to increase awareness among all stakeholders in order to secure that they are willing and able to reduce risks for workers. At the conference two brochures will be presented. They are designed to provide information and knowledge about specific risks of occupational accidents and occupational diseases which occur frequently during construction work and how they can be prevented. They are directed to all those who are involved in the construction process at different stages and who are subject to SWEAs rules and regulations. New identified risk groups are e.g. students, apprentices, self-employed, and foreign workers temporarily working in Sweden. We also see that work is still being carried out in narrow installation spaces during erection stage of buildings because the people responsible for the drawings do not take notice of the need for sufficient space to do the work. SWEA experienced that it is difficult to reach all the groups concerned with the message about how to avoid injuries and unnecessary musculoskeletal disorders.     

Return to work: a case of PTSD, dissociative identity disorder, and satanic ritual abuse

This case study investigated an intervention that enabled an individual with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), and satanic ritual abuse to return to work after discharge from psychiatric inpatient treatment. The Occupational Questionnaire [88] revealed past difficulties in organization, awareness of time, communication, cooperation, frustration tolerance, competition, stress management, goal setting, and amnesia resulting in incomplete tasks and sporadic attendance at work. The Role Checklist [72] identified alters valuing work and employed in the past. The Modified Interest Checklist [70] identified running as an interest that 24 alters shared. Based on the initial evaluations, three times a week treadmill running was used as an intervention that built work skills (as measured by the Clerical Work Sample of the Valpar Component Work Sample Series [97]) necessary to sustain gainful employment upon discharge. After intervention, this individual improved in awareness of time, stress management, and goal setting abilities and was less amnestic as per the Occupational Questionnaire [88] and four additional alters expressed an interest in work according to the Modified Interest Checklist [70].     

The sustainability of Egan’s Skilled Helper Model in students’ social work practice

This paper investigates the nature of students’ learning of the Egan Skilled Helper model in enabling them to develop collaborative communication skills which place service-users at the centre of decision making. The paper is a follow-up to an earlier paper which found that the Egan model was helpful to students as a communication and problem management tool and that they had transferred their learning into practice. The current study involves seven students from the first study and examines whether their knowledge and skills from learning the model in year one have been sustained two years later during their third year practice placement. A key finding is that participants were continuing to use most stages of the model (with the exception of challenging skills) with service-users in a variety of settings. Further findings are that the model is still useful in situations where goals are set by social workers rather than by service-users; and that it is the utilisation of role-play when learning the model which most embeds skills. The implications of these findings for skills training are discussed together with suggestions for further focus.     

Prediction model for the return to work of workers with injuries in Hong Kong

This study attempts to formulate a prediction model of return to work for a group of workers who have been suffering from chronic pain and physical injury while also being out of work in Hong Kong. The study used Case-based Reasoning (CBR) method, and compared the result with the statistical method of logistic regression model. The database of the algorithm of CBR was composed of 67 cases who were also used in the logistic regression model. The testing cases were 32 participants who had a similar background and characteristics to those in the database. The methods of setting constraints and Euclidean distance metric were used in CBR to search the closest cases to the trial case based on the matrix. The usefulness of the algorithm was tested on 32 new participants, and the accuracy of predicting return to work outcomes was 62.5%, which was no better than the 71.2% accuracy derived from the logistic regression model. The results of the study would enable us to have a better understanding of the CBR applied in the field of occupational rehabilitation by comparing with the conventional regression analysis. The findings would also shed light on the development of relevant interventions for the return-to-work process of these workers.     

A comparison of self-perceived physical and psycho-social worker profiles of people with direct work injury, chronic low back pain, and cumulative trauma

This study investigated the psycho-social factors among injured workers and the influence of their psycho-social profile on the readiness of return to work. Sixty-four subjects with injuries on the upper limbs or lower limbs, low back pain, or cumulative trauma disorder were recruited. The workers' profiles (self-perceived physical health, mental health, and work readiness) together with the impact and types of work injury on the workers' perceived wellness were measured. The regression model of work readiness was constructed to develop a theoretical background for predicting work readiness based on different factors. The results showed that injured workers with chronic injury such as low back pain or cumulative trauma had poorer self-perception of physical health and psycho-social/mental health compared to those with direct trauma. The regression analysis further affirmed that self-perceived pain and physical functioning were significant factors influencing the readiness for returning to work. Workers with low back pain were found to have lower motivation for returning to work. Other factors such as the non-verbal intelligence of the injured workers, their anxiety level, and the support they received from family members were found to have some indirect impact on their ability to return to work, but this was not statistically proven.     

The Impact of Clinical Information Systems on Human Service Organizations

Summary

Human service organizations are beginning to utilize computerized information systems for a variety of purposes. This new information technology is expected to have a major impact on human service organizations. However, work to date has explored the impact of information systems designed for administrative and managerial tasks while clinical information systems focusing on direct practice have yet to be studied systematically. In this paper, is described the impact of a clinical information system on the work of line workers and the HSO as a whole. Five stages in the problem solving process are identified: Information collection, information processing, professional judgment, decision making, and action. They are viewed as stages in a feedback loop such that die action sequence of one cycle leads to an information collection stage in the subsequent cycle and so on. The possible impact of a CIS on practitioners at all levels from line worker to HSO clinical leadership is analyzed at each of these five stages. A case example of the CIS developed for the foster care service in Israel is utilized as an illustrative example.