Research Updates

Andrea Thompson

Articles by ‘Andrea Thompson’
Empowering workers to stay in their original employment.

Based on the rationale that it is easier to keep a job than to find a new one, the new focus of vocational rehabilitation for workers with chronic conditions is empowering the worker to stay in...

Arm pain and RTW - work modifications that work

Lessons learnt from an integrated case management approach for arm problems

Supervising recovery

Employer response to injury impacts employee recovery. This study identifies where employers go wrong and how to fix it!

Team ergonomics

This literature review examines some examples of the positive effects of participatory ergonomic (PE) intervention on improving workers health.

Does zest for work influence return to work?

Job satisfaction and engagement both influence work attendance.

School of pain

How effective is individual patient education for people with low back pain?

Meeting the needs of injured workers

Peer support helps put the pieces back together after workplace injury

RTW interventions assessed

A mixed bag of workplace interventions have been trialled over the last 20 years. What works?

Critical illness, brain impairment and RTW

Are neurocognitive impairments being identified early enough, or at all, after critical illness?

When safety turns dangerous...

Safety incentive programs may reduce workplace injury rates but they can also cause under-reporting.

Save lives and money with health and productivity management

The best work disability programs are broader than return to work management. Improving the health of the workforce reduces absenteeism, compensation costs and improves productivity.

How effective is individual patient education for people with low back pain?

Evidence suggests provision of an intensive one-on-one education session can improve the short and long term return to work outcomes for patients with acute and sub-acute lower back pain.