Articles tagged under ‘Research update’

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

• Hungry to improve RTW?

  The researchers at the Insurance Work and Health Group at Monash University are offering a fantastic professional development opportunity: a two-day course on Return to Work: Evidence and Innovation

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• Correlation or causation?

  If you want your injury management systems to be evidence-based, you need to understand how correlation differs from causation. Otherwise you put your return on investment at risk.

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• Qualitative VS Quantitative research

  What is qualitative research? Can it help solve the puzzle of why workers’ compensation seems to be bad for your health?

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• Functional Capacity Evaluations: the pitfalls.

  Sometimes a person's capacities exceed their own sense of what they can safely do. What is the role of the professional in explaining the results of an FCE?

Research 1 - 137 of 137

• RTW snakes and ladders

  Physiotherapists and claims managers weigh in on what helps injured workers get over the RTW finish line and what sends them backwards.

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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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• Relationships impact RTW and RTW effort sufficiency

  Researchers in the Netherlands claim that a positive employer / employee relationship has more impact than functional capacity on RTW and RTW effort sufficiency, a measure of employer and employee effort.

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• Intervention practices for depression in the workplace

  Researchers from Canada sought to summarise the research on interventions for depression in the workplace.

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• What does a thriving social life have to do with RTW?

  Researchers looking for factors associated with early RTW uncover the usual suspects, as well as a less-expected ally: the social butterfly!

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• Measuring employer and employee efforts toward RTW

  Researchers suggest shifting from a straightforward evaluation of capacity and duties to more personal factors such as the relationship between the employee and the employer.

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• Predicting the transition from acute to persistent low back pain

  A small but significant proportion of people with back pain go on to develop long-term problems.

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• Regional trends in sickness benefit payments

  Rsearchers investigated why claims for mental and behavioural disorders have overtaken those for musculoskeletal complaints

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• Depression and work performance

  An ecological study using web based screening

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• Self reported work-related symptoms in hairdressers

  Musculoskeletal problems for hairdressers may be reduced if the risks are understood.

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• Work-related symptoms in nail salon technicians

  Managers may be unfamiliar with evidence-based prevention and ergonomic practices

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• Easy, accurate way to measure stress

  French researchers find a simple way to measure stress - using a visual scale.

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• The burden of sickness absence from musculoskeletal causes

  The costs of a major health problem in developed nations

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• The occupational hazard of self treatment and self medication for doctors

  A review of self medication in physicians and medical students

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• Work ability, psychosocial hazards and work experience in prisons

  Spanish researchers sought to understand work ability amongst prison workers.

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• Physical activity at work and low back pain

  Back problems are commonly attributed to work and many in the community believe that heavy lifting contributes to back problems.

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• Does hurting here - and here - and here - make it harder to work?

  Multi-site pain is a common phenomenon among working-age people and it strongly increases work disability risk.

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• RSI in musicians

  Professional musicians have high rates of musculoskeletal pain, but few studies have analysed the risks of work activities or the psychosocial work environment.

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• Predictors of poor outcomes in patients with musculoskeletal pain

  Generic prognostic factors may assist primary care practitioners to identify those patients with musculoskeletal pain who are at risk of poor outcomes, regardless of the site of their pain.

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• Confidence vital for supervisors managing RTW...

  ...And other influences on supervisor readiness to engage in workplace-based vocational rehabilitations

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• Job demands, musculoskeletal symptoms and computer work

  When musculoskeletal problems flare for a desk-bound office worker, they may need a stress check as much as they need an ergonomics check.

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• An elegant way to assess recovery

  A single question - "How do you feel you are recovering from your injury?” - may be as useful in assessing progress as numerous more complex questionnaires.

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• Can botox injections replace surgery for refractory knee pain?

  Exercise and surgery have long been the staple treatments for refractory knee pain - but is there a quicker (and less risky) fix?

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• Entrenched work disability shifted by self-knowledge

  Might a therapeutic approach that focuses on increasing self-knowledge help shift long-term work disability and encourage recovery?

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• What's missing from undergraduate occupational medicine tuition?

  We need better approaches to teaching medical students about work, health and occupational medicine.

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• Slow access to vocational rehab with cancer?

  Workers with cancer may have delayed referral to occupational health services

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• Leadership effectiveness and recorded sickness absence

  Nurse managers who match their leadership style to the issue at hand see fewer short time absences than those who lack this skill.

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• Severity of bipolar disorder does not determine disability level

  This study sought to understand whether patients with bipolar disorder admitted to hospital had a greater level of disability than those who had not been.

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• Workplace support counts for employees with cancer

  Employer attitudes influence RTW after a cancer diagnosis.

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• Research short: Flexible hours improves wellbeing

  A University of Wollongong survey shows employees with access to flexible working hours are in better shape than those working to a rigid roster.

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• Research short: Bad for the body, bad for the workplace

  A major study from the Netherlands shows productivity can be improved by helping workers improve their lifestyles.

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• Research short: How long will chronic low back pain last?

  A Dutch study has produced a simple, efficient means for assessing the probable duration of low back pain.

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• Research short: Getting disability off your back

  New research shows patient anxiety and distress about a lower back complaint significantly reduces the chance of a successful return to work outcome.

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• Research short: Sick of work

  A Swedish study has highlighted the link between lacklustre organisational environments workplace and employee absenteeism.

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• Research short: Spinal manipulative therapy for chronic low back pain

  Researchers have found spinal manipulative therapy yields small improvements in chronic low back pain, but have questioned the practice's cost-effectiveness.

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• Research short: Returning to work after road accidents

  A new study highlights the mains causes for return to work delays after an injury on the road.

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• Research short: Do physician guidelines improve return to work rates?

  A Dutch study has shown that adherence to guidelines by physicians can help lead to earlier return to work outcomes.

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• Research short: What is the best way to evaluate permanent impairment?

  A study has raised doubts about whether the new edition of the American Medical Association guides for the evaluation of impairment are an improvement on existing practice.

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• Research short: Professional supervision for rehab providers

  A survey of rehabilitation and return to work managers in Queensland has led to calls for greater professional development through mentoring and supervision.

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• Research short: Exercise and the treatment of chronic pain

  Researchers have developed an effective treatment for the vexing condition of Fibromyalgia through a detailed and prolonged exercise regimen.

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• Research short: Improving RTW outcomes with pain coping skills

  Injured workers may have a better RTW outcome if they undergo pain coping skills training before surgery.

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• Research short: Occupational therapy for psychosis

  A study has shown promising signs of success for helping people with mental health issues join the workforce.

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• Research short: Abnormal tactile sensations in chronic pain

  Canadian researchers have highlighted the lack of knowledge about the causes of abnormal and reduced sensations in the limbs of patients.

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• Research short: What med certs tell us about sickness absence

  A Swedish study has shown that what doctors and employers will permit on medical certificates has changed over recent decades.

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• The impact of values

  Can employees' values improve their happiness, absence rates and health?

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• Guided internet-based cognitive behavioural treatment for chronic back pain reduces pain catastrophising

  A randomized controlled trial from Sweden offers hope for chronic back pain sufferers.

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• Research short: Managing arm pain in computer users

  Ergonomic keyboards can help reduce the effects of recurrent arm pain in office workers.

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• Research short: My boss makes me sick

  Poor management often leads to higher levels of employee stress and sickness.

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• Research short: A happy work is a healthy work

  Positive workplace environments are necessary for workplace health programs to be successful.

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• Want less sick leave?

  The evidence says you should improve workplace culture, clearly define roles and put better support mechanisms in place for workers who perform emotionally demanding labour.

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• Research Short: Do managers suffer from more stress?

  A Danish study debunks the myth that managers are often more stressed than employees.

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• The less involved senior managers are, the better they rate health and safety

  Hands-off senior managers overestimate the safety and health of their workplace compared to industry standards. RTW professionals should use facts to remove rose-coloured glasses...

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• Research short: Attending work while sick

  Flexible sick-leave policies can reduce sickness absence.

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• Research short: Is there a better physio treatment for chronic lower back pain?

  A new study suggests therapeutic climbing may trump a standard exercise regime in treating lower back complaints.

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• Research short: Work is good for you, but...

  The UK's treating practitioners say that work is beneficial, but how do they actually behave when making recommendations about back problems?

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• Research short: The pre-employment examination drain

  Do pre-employment medical examinations reduce sick leave? Are they value for money?

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• Research short: Is integrated care value for $?

  A European study of an integrated care program for workers with long term back problems shows a return of $26 for every $1 invested.

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• Research short: Doctors or managers - who affects sickness absence?

  Danish researchers find that management approaches and levels of employee decision-making latitude exert considerable influence on sick leave. So who should you try and influence?

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• Research short: Mixed opinions

  When dealing with complex or ambiguous medical problems, only half of treating practitioners come to the same conclusions about RTW.

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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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• Research short: Cancer and work

  Who is more pessimistic about the impact of cancer on working life: cancer survivors or employers? How does this affect return to work prospects?

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• Research short: health risks and disability

  Individuals with disabilities are more likely to engage in risky health behaviours like smoking and drinking alcohol.

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• Research short: flexible work reduces sick leave

  Workers who have the option to work from home are 1.5 times less likely to take sick leave than those who must be in the office.

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• Research short: Does job coaching help people find work?

  What does the evidence say about the effectiveness of job coaching for people who cannot return to a job with their previous employer?

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• Research short: link found between pain symptoms and confidence

  Believing that you can cope with whatever life brings you has a positive impact on pain symptoms - and there are ways of assessing coping confidence at work.

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• Research short: First contact

  Early contact with injured workers is good for RTW, right? Well, that depends! It's not so much what you do as how you do it.

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• Research short: Understanding who wants what

  Different RTW players have different objectives. Research suggests that this knowledge can help you reduce paperwork. Whaaat? Read on!

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• A caring doctor is an important predictor of the success of return to work programs

  Return to work programs are more likely to have positive outcomes if participants have a stable relationship with a doctor who is attentive and empathetic, and provide good information about health and social options.

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• What helps RTW for people with chronic pain?

  Surveys can help identify factors that will improve RTW.

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• Arm pain and RTW - work modifications that work

  Lessons learnt from an integrated case management approach for arm problems

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• A chicken and the egg problem: Self efficacy, sickness absence and return to work

  If you feel you can cope with a difficult situation will you get back to work earlier?

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• Health and wellbeing: Take it online and show me the money!

  Do online physical activity programs work? And are cash incentives good for motivation?

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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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• Screening for distress

  Studies suggest that it is possible to identify workers at risk of developing psychological distress and intervene before productivity suffers

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• Team ergonomics

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

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• Supervising recovery

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

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• Overtreatment HURTS

  The US demonstrates how overtreating back pain causes more pain.

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• Hospitable RTW

  Employer reactions can determine RTW outcomes: making workers welcome matters

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• Burn-out busters! The benefits of psychosocial coaching - the evidence

  This study looks at the effect of preventive coaching on employees with psychosocial health complaints - and identifies some barriers to employee participation.

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• Self efficacy, sickness absence and return to work

  If you feel you can cope with a difficult situation will you get back to work earlier?

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• Treating back pain: when surgery does not make the cut

  A review of the effectiveness of non-surgical treatments for chronic low back pain.

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• Want to reduce sick leave? Be a good leader!

  Good organisational leadership reduces sick leave and disability

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• The surprising incidence of pain in young adults

  Short and long term pain is common in the 18-25 year old age group.

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• The lowdown on leg pain or sciatica

  Researchers still argue about how common sciatica is, and precisely how it should be defined. One thing is clear: it's a warning sign of struggles ahead for a worker with back pain...

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• The 'work ability' divide

  Who falls in the anti-collaboration chasm when doctors and insurers have different ideas about what 'work ability' involves?

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• Should you put your neck out for exercise

  How effective are exercises in treating mechanical neck problems?

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• "But I didn't touch him"

  What is non-physical violence, and how does it impact the workplace?

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• She'll be right: Under-reporting injury in the workplace

  According to one study, only 52% of work related injury and illness gets reported

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• Back pain with no explanation is scary

  What do people with different kinds of back pain believe about pain and how do these beliefs impact recovery?

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• Real bad back pain? On-the-spot physio provides short term gain

  Physiotherapy for acute back pain is good in the short term, but education and movement bring long term benefits.

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• Treating knee pain in older adults

  Practitioners under-prescribe key effective treatments: Education, exercise and weight loss

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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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• Depression: Optimising care for the employee and the workplace

  Depression exacerbates and prolongs pain. What does this mean for the workplace?

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• A tool to measure motivation

  The Model of Creative Ability may be a useful tool in return-to-work programs to assess and measure motivation.

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• Supermarket workers shelve musculoskeletal disorders

  Lower back pain poses problems for supermarket workers, but chances are they wont tell

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• Competencies required for effective return-to-work coordination

  A recent review of the literature has identified the core competencies that are important for effective return-to-work coordination.

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• Coaching the chronically ill

  Education, behavioural change and support: Effective coaching methods to assist patients

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• Doctors and back pain: Who you see influences the treatment you get

  While some doctors follow best practice guidelines for lower back pain, many get it wrong...

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• Healthy work environment = Healthy workers

  Workers care about support and respect in the workplace and notice whether health and safety are management priorities.

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• When to take extended sick leave. A complex decision for workers with spine-related pain

  This study identified a range of factors that influence when workers with neck and low-back (spine-related) pain take extended sick leave.

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• Ways to whip whiplash

  An overview of whiplash injury

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• Injury blues

  What factors increase the risk of injured workers developing depression?

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• Which workers are more likely to experience depression?

  And the causes.

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• Is RTW training for supervisors worth it?

  Training gives supervisors clarity and confidence; and clear, confident supervisors support RTW.

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• Powerful partnerships

  The evidence is in: when employers join workers on the RTW journey, the sky's the limit!

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• The super-view of super-RTW

  What do supervisors think about multidisciplinary vocational rehabilitation programs?

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• Tackling stress online - the evidence

  A web-based approach to managing stress and mood disorders

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• Success with systems at work for shoulders

  Shoulder problems are common. Having a standard management system in place can streamline return to work.

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• But I don't have a problem! Young workers and risky drinking

  Young male workers need to be educated about the work and health consequences of risky drinking.

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• Self management strategies: Coaching the coaches

  Many self care coaches have no formal training. Does coaching the coaches improve performance?

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• Satisfied? Not really, boss

  Management and supervisors overestimate the level of satisfaction workers have in their jobs.

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• What's the source of that pain in the neck?

  Neck pain is a common condition in workers, and psychosocial factors influence outcomes.

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• Meeting the needs of injured workers

  Peer support helps put the pieces back together after workplace injury

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• Nurturing case management

  Might a more involved approach to the case management of workers with musculoskeletal disorders cost less AND facilitate return to work?

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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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• Learn to return

  A number of simple initiatives can have a positive impact on timely return to work and decrease costs.

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• RTW interventions assessed

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

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• Is everyone a safety expert?

  Canadian researchers conclude that employees have the goods to make participatory ergonomics a success.

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• Understanding the trajectory of workplace stress

  Research suggests that stress claims aren't as big a mystery as employers tend to think...

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• Compensation prolongs whiplash pain

  Changes to NSW workers' comp legislation had some interesting outcomes

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• Whiplash and physical fitness

  Do fit people recover from whiplash more quickly?

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• Preventing unnecessary disability

  An overview of the complex factors influencing the return to work of sick and injured workers, and recommendations as to return to work strategies can be improved.

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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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• Who's the boss? Health and control in the workplace

  If a sense of workplace control is linked to good health, how can it be fostered?

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• Success with shoulders?

  Rotator cuff treatments that work...and a couple that don't!

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• Employer flexibility helps cancer survivors return to work

  Returning to work after cancer treatment is difficult, but employers can make a difference.

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• What is behind psychosocial sick leave?

  A look at the factors which predict psychosocial sick leave.

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• Tick, tick, tick: The timing of intervention.

  Intervention by nurse case managers during the first week after onset of back pain improves workers' satisfaction with their employer and healthcare provider and reduces sick leave absences.

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• Why me? Predicting neck pain

  Certain factors put people at risk of recurrent neck pain. What predicts recovery? This study examines the evidence.

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• A pain in the neck?

  A Canadian study explores the relationship between neck pain and lost time claims.

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• Left behind in the RTW journey - Part 1

  A look at barriers to return to work for those out of work for two years. Return to work after being off work for long periods is challenging and uncommon, understanding the barriers is vital.

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• Left behind in the RTW journey - Part 2

  Long term claimants commonly describe a system that is frustrating, does not consider their needs, and misses out on treating them as an individual.

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• If RTW with chronic back pain fails, try a new approach

  Chronic pain is challenging to manage. Dr Wyatt describes a hotel worker's persistent, disabling case of back pain - and the treatment changes that made all the difference.

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• Employee input into improving their work environment: just the prescription for treating sick leave absences

  An 'organisational rehabilitation' program that identified and addressed employees' concerns with their work environment resulted in a substantial reduction in sick leave absences and the associated costs.

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• Locus of control and vocational rehabilitation

  A sense of control over the situation improves return to work outcomes.

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• The world's best look at neck pain

  The Task Force on Neck Pain was a major undertaking, seeking to review and summarise information on neck pain problems, treatments, and what can be done to improve neck pain outcomes. A decade on, it’s messages are still relevant.

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• Musculoskeletal problems with anxiety / depression - double trouble.

  People with musculoskeletal disorders and accompanying depression or anxiety have reduced levels of workforce participation. Tailored return-to-work programs that offer more intensive and continuous levels of support may help.