Articles tagged under ‘PsychoSocial’

Articles 1 - 48 of 48

• IMEs as forces for healing, not harming — Part 2: healthcare providers

  Independent medical examinations are a healthcare issue that contributes to poorer outcomes for injured workers. What does the research say about how healthcare providers can make a positive difference?

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• IMEs as forces for healing, not harming — Part 1: case managers

  Independent medical examinations are one of many factors in our compensation system that can enhance or impede workers’ recovery and RTW. There are things that case managers can do to swing the balance in favour of better workers outcomes.

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• Webinar recording — Every recovery needs a plan

  John McMahon, Director of Science at Navigator Group, discusses their Navigator Support Program which reduces cost and duration of claims by addressing psychosocial barriers to recovery.

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• New clinical care standard for low back pain — a story of hope

  The new Low Back Pain Clinical Care Standard aims to make sure patients with this common condition get the best outcomes.

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• Webinar recording — It pays to care: from policy to practice

  Dr Mary Wyatt introduces the Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine's recently-launched policy on work injury scheme design and explores some practical approaches to improve how our schemes operate.

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• ‘An epidemic of useless and often harmful care’ — Part 1

  Our standard pathway of care in injury management leads to low value care and over-investigation, over-diagnosis and over-treatment. Dr Mary Wyatt, Occupational Physician, presents some ideas to bridge the gap between current practice and the evidence-base.

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• RTW: from policy to practice. An imperative for change and call to action

  An important policy paper — It pays to care — calls for a conversation about, and action on, how we can work together to improve health and recovery outcomes and reduce the barriers to care for people with work injuries.

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• Why some injured workers struggle and how to help

  Rehabilitation counselling guru Dr Boris Fedoric explains why some workers struggle to get back to work, identifying biopsychosocial barriers, explaining what employers and systems often get wrong and identifying supports that promote recovery and RTW.

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• Bad reassurance: "You’re fine! Don’t worry!"

  Doctors and allied health professionals aiming to avoid over-treatment can actually make things worse for patients with back pain by offering reassurance that fails to reassure, according to spine care specialist Dr Donald Murphy.

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• Webinar recording: Implementing early screening to identify and manage at risk workers to prevent unnecessary work disability: Lessons from the WISE study

  This webinar outlines the key learnings from the WISE study and the core components that made a major difference.

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• Webinar recording:Systematic approaches to identifying and addressing biopsychosocial barriers – the missing policy in RTW Part 3

  In the third and final installment of this excellent series, Dr Pam Garton talks challenges, core components and next steps in implementing a system-wide biopsychosocial approach to injury management.

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• Webinar recording:Systematic approaches to identifying and addressing biopsychosocial barriers – the missing policy in RTW Part 2

  In part two of a three part series on identifying and managing psychosocial issues in RTW, Dr Pam Garton discusses psychosocial assessment.

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• Webinar recording:Systematic approaches to identifying and addressing biopsychosocial barriers – the missing policy in RTW Part 1

  In part 1 of 3, Pam Garton PhD gives us the background on her excellent research and explains how to identify psychosocial risk.

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• Questioning the power of positivity

  Do positive expectations about RTW bring results, or do good prospects make injured workers feel more positive?

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• Webinar recording: The importance of social connection in RTW

  Associate Professor Caroline Howe explains what icare's research into social connection tells us.

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• Identifying psychosocial risks and worker vulnerability

  Guidance from Safe Work Australia can help you clock the psychosocial risks in your workplace, and understand which workers might be most vulnerable.

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• Psychosocial pitfalls of "ordinary" injuries

  We eavesdrop on a conversation (ok, polite but passionate debate) between RTW professionals with differing views on the influence of psyschosocial issues on recovery from non-catastrophic injury.

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• Workplace Incivility: where are your manners?

  Incivility is being rude, discourteous and showing a lack of regard for others. The behaviour harms the target, whether intentionally or unintentionally. It may also occur in the cyberspace, such as not replying to email or sending terse emails.

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• Role Summary: Psychologist

  Psychology is the study of the mind and associated behaviours. A psychologist's focus may be on either individuals or groups.

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• Case Study: Let the client help you help them

  Each client comes with their own unique history, personality and circumstances.

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• Injustice in return to work: part 2

  A sense of unfairness may lead to worse health outcomes for injured workers.

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• Injustice in return to work: part 1

  Workers' compensation systems can leave clients feeling betrayed. This sense of unfairness may hinder a client's return to work.

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• Video: It's time to say good-bye to brain drain

  Rob Aurbach talks about the neuroplasticity, and the impact of negative messages on pain and return to work.

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• The power of learned optimism

  How 'learned optimism' can improve return to work outcomes: Breaking down Theo Feldbrugge's webinar presentation.

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• Video webinar: Improving Return to Work Motivation with Optimism

  Theo Feldbrugge discusses the impact of optimism / pessimism on return to work.

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• Decision-making justice: Part two

  Another must read for claims / case managers: how you cannot afford to get it wrong, and how you can get it right.

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• Decision-making justice Part 1.

  A good decision making process is worth its weight in platinum, making this a key read for claims staff and decision makers.

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• Emotional resilience: 2

  This second of a two-part series investigates identifying pessimistic thinking in employees, and improving optimism and emotional resilience in the workplace.

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• Emotional resilience: 1

  This first of a two-part series investigates the negative health and work effects of pessimism, and how fostering emotional resilience improves wellness and business outcomes.

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• Costs of 'job strain' related depression

  What is job strain? How is it linked to depression? And what are the associated costs? New Australian research has the answers...

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• Flagging the obstacle course of bad outcomes

  From the hot tubs of New Zealand to the bread and butter of a RTW Coordinator's work.

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• Sophie's choices (a case study)

  A rehab provider who addresses the human impact of injury restarts stalled RTW for a disempowered young worker.

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• What's work got to do...got to do with it?

  Returning to work is even harder if the work itself feels meaningless. What makes a job meaningful?

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• Things have gotta change: back pain and why our thinking is all wrong

  When it comes to back pain, we don't have the right vocabulary - and we need it. The right words can inform the correct way of thinking.

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• Different states of whiplash

  Epidemiological studies show that whiplash rates vary enormously between jurisdictions. Why?

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• Are you having a laugh?

  The benefits of humour in the workplace.

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• Video presentation: Psychosocial ergonomics

  Job design includes the physical layout, AND how jobs fit the person's psyche. Deadlines, flexible work practices, control, and workplace culture need to be addressed to prevent and manage physical and mental health problems.

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• Frustrated by "victims"?

  People who believe they've been treated unfairly have lower functional ability than those who think that they've had a fair go. How can you get them past the victim mentality?

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• Rehab Providers a mystery to you?

  This Q&A for employers covers the Who, What, When and How of Rehabilitation Providers

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• Discrimination, harassment and RTW

  How can employers avoid real (or perceived) discrimination and harassment during the RTW process?

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• More than medical

  Some people have a harder time managing their injury and returning to work than others. Are medical issues usually responsible?

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• What do RTW Professionals need to know about CBT?

  The basics of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and how it can be used to resolve difficult RTW cases.

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• Manage people, not musculoskeletal symptoms

  Ignoring the non-physical causes of musculoskeletal problems leads to very poor outcomes in this all too familiar case study.

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• Conflict Cookie #3: Managing conflict

  It's a waste to sweep cookie crumbs under the carpet, and the same goes for conflict. Don't ignore workplace conflict: manage it.

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• A flag is a flag is a flag

  Everyday words can take on different meanings when used by medical practitioners, but to what effect?

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• Getting back to work: an interview with John Stubbs.

  Interview with Cancer Voices Australia executive director and cancer survivor John Stubbs.

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• The carpet-layer made good

  'Chris' was a carpet layer who worked in a small suburban firm.

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• When return to work works best

  RTW Matters interviewed 57-year-old 'Sally', who went straight back to work after sustaining a shoulder injury. We learn what helped - and what didn't.

Archived Articles 1 - 4 of 4

• Nursing a healthy return to work journey

  Take 10 factors for RTW success and 10 for failure. Click on the ones you want to achieve - or remedy - and uncover the clues!

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• DON'T follow the leader: Cranky pants Rudd illustrates the importance of a healthy work / life balance

  A little disrespect goes a long way. Our work-obsessed PM takes time out mid flight to illustrate why we all need to work, rest and play.

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• Importance of preventitive stress management

  Early detection and intervention are the keys when it comes to work-related stress.

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• The disability support pension process: unnecessarily stressful?

  Qualified assessors the key to determining disability pension eligibility.

Research 1 - 22 of 22

• RTW expectations built on trust, workplace support and actions of treatment provider

  RTW expectations predict recovery from musculoskeletal injury. Workplace supports, trust and the actions of healthcare providers all shape RTW expectations, according to NZ workers

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• Quality of work predicts mental health

  There is a strong link between work quality and mental health, and some workers are slugged by multiple psychosocial negatives, according to new Canadian / Australian research.

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• The high cost of losing value at work

  Supervisors need to recognise that workers who feel socially devalued at work suffer health and wellbeing consequences, according to experts who conducted a massive review of the available research.

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• Call centre workers tired of faking it

  Feeling one way and having to act another is a hallmark of call centre work. The resulting emotional exhaustion has implications not only for the health and work satisfaction of call centre workers but for the people who use their services.

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• Motivational interviewing and RTW

  Motivational interviewing is very beneficial, according to injured workers who need practical help or more information about navigating workers' compensation systems. However, workers who are doing ok on their own don't benefit.

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• Dying for more job control

  Large Australian study links low job control to higher mortality risk.

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• Targeted learning eases job strain in the ICU

  A 5-day intervention for ICU nurses in France establishes that individual workers can learn to cope better with stressful and demanding work.

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• Angry nurses have more MSDs - and there's a link to social demands / support

  Nurses who think they offer their colleagues more support than they get in return are more likely to be angry, and develop an MSD, than those who describe a fair balance.

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• Putting the "social" back in biopsychosocial

  What does the international evidence say about the impact of compensation systems, health care systems and significant others on workability for people with lower back pain?

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• Introducing ROSES

  In the search to find a screening tool to assist workers with MSDs and common mental health problems, will an Orebro by any other name smell as sweet?

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• Fair winners, fair losers in dispute resolution

  What makes dispute resolution outcomes seem fair to workers?

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• How do social functioning, social relationships and compensation influence RTW?

  Understanding the factors that influence return to work assists in effective rehabilitation.

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• Research short: Armed against arm pain

  Reducing repetitive work is not the only option to consider when attempting to accommodate arm pain in the workplace.

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• Job control, job demand and workplace health

  Changes in psychosocial aspects of work affect employee health and wellbeing

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• What contributes to recurrent back bother?

  A look at the workplace factors associated with repeat visits to back pain clinics

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• Taking control of arthritis

  Psychosocial approaches to managing arthritis help sufferers make the most of medical care.

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• Fear, expectation and back pain - the evidence

  Knowing what psychosocial factors affect recovery from low back pain can help target employee interventions

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• Back pain and pessimism: A vicious cycle-The evidence

  Pessimistic beliefs about back pain can prolong suffering and prevent proper treatment

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• Despair and low back pain: Connecting as a starting point-The evidence

  People with chronic low back pain can lose their sense of control over life, a major demotivating factor

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• Predicting and preventing long-term disability

  Recognising the risk factors for long term disability can help employers reduce the compensation burden

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• The simple way to predict RTW outcomes? Ask!

  A short survey can predict a worker's RTW outcomes

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• Non-surgical treatment options for chronic back pain

  Exercise, behavioural and multimodal programs: What works for RTW and why?