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ISSN 1051-9815 (P)
ISSN 1875-9270 (E)
Impact Factor 2024: 1.7
WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation is an interdisciplinary, international journal which publishes high quality peer-reviewed manuscripts covering the entire scope of the occupation of work. The journal's subtitle has been deliberately laid out: The first goal is the prevention of illness, injury, and disability. When this goal is not achievable, the attention focuses on assessment to design client-centered intervention, rehabilitation, treatment, or controls that use scientific evidence to support best practice.
WORK occasionally publishes thematic issues, but in general, issues cover a wide range of topics such as ergonomic considerations with children, youth and students, the challenges facing an aging workforce, workplace violence, injury management, performing artists, ergonomic product evaluations, and the awareness of the political, cultural, and environmental determinants of health related to work.
Dr. Karen Jacobs, the founding editor, and her editorial board especially encourage the publication of research studies, clinical practice, case study reports, as well as personal narratives and critical reflections of lived work experiences (autoethnographic/autobiographic scholarship),
Sounding Board commentaries and
Speaking of Research articles which provide the foundation for better understanding research to facilitate knowledge dissemination.
Narrative Reflections on Occupational Transitions, a new column, is for persons who have successfully transitioned into, between, or out of occupations to tell their stories in a narrative form. With an internationally renowned editorial board,
WORK maintains high standards in the evaluation and publication of manuscripts. All manuscripts are reviewed expeditiously and published in a timely manner.
WORK prides itself on being an author-friendly journal.
WORK celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2015.
*WORK is affiliated with the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT)* *WORK is endorsed by the International Ergonomics Association (IEA)* *WORK gives out the yearly Cheryl Bennett Best Paper Award*
Abstract: The present report uses two cases to provide an overview of employment support by occupational therapists for people with developmental disabilities and investigates the roles occupational therapists should play and the support they should give. Case A was a man in his 30s with Asperger disorder who used a trial employment program and received on-the-job training, leading to regular employment. Case B was a man in his 40s with intellectual disability who used outreach supported employment…and achieved financial stability through sheltered employment. These two cases suggest that occupational therapists can help people with developmental disabilities acquire stable employment by accelerating their adaptation to the workplace through the following steps: assessing the occupational performance of the individual and the work environment; understanding the characteristics of the job by experiencing the job first-hand; and adjusting or improving the work environment to match the capabilities of the individual.
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Keywords: Vocational rehabilitation, work capacity assessment, cooperation with local enterprises
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this paper is to review the methods and the activities of occupational therapists (OTs) in the field of work support for persons with mental disabilities in Japan. METHODS: Necessary information is gathered through review of literatures. RESULTS: Japanese OTs are working in myriad locations across a number of areas in the field of mental disabilities, including medical institutions, self-support facilities, public employment security offices, employment and life support…centers for persons with disabilities, public health centers, and vocational rehabilitation centers. Work support has been implemented in each setting, and there is a diverse range of implementations. In discussing work support in Japan, it is important to note that it is still often implemented in a conventional way – that is to say, through a gradual-support methodology, based on the working-readiness model. However, some of the work support initiatives have begun to embrace cutting-edge approaches, such as network-oriented implementation. CONCLUSION: It is necessary for OTs in Japan to implement work support using the most effective means available. Repeating such efforts will drive a paradigm shift facilitating a transition from the outdated working-readiness model, andhelp persons with disabilities to have decent jobs.
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Abstract: OBJECTIVE: This paper intends to review the historical development and related issues involved in the employment of persons with disabilities under the Law on Employment Promotion of Persons with Disabilities in Japan in light of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). METHODS: The actual situations of the special subsidiary company system, which was established by the Law to assist large-sized enterprises in achieving their legally mandated quota, were analyzed,…based on the relevant data and materials published by the government and other sources. CONCLUSIONS: The targeted enterprises could achieve the highest employment rates of persons with disabilities through the establishment of special subsidiary companies. However, various studies on these companies have revealed that more effort is needed to improve the quality of employment of their workers with disabilities in light of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
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Keywords: Quality of employment of persons with disabilities, normalization and inclusion, realization of rights to work of persons with disabilities,
Abstract: The number of Japanese working age persons who have experienced a stroke is significantly increasing. In such cases work support is an urgent issue. Although an active cooperation between medical institutions and work support agencies is critical, it has been insufficient, due to an absence of key coordinators with sufficient knowledge in both occupational therapy and work support or vocational rehabilitation. The present paper introduced two case studies to illustrate the importance of the cooperation between…medical institutions and work support agencies and discussed reasons why medical institutions have difficulties in supporting persons who have experienced a stroke in their return to work.
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Keywords: Higher brain dysfunction, occupational therapy, hospital, pre-vocational support
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To report on functional outcomes of clients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) admitted to a sub-acute rehabilitation hospital and rehabilitation facility in Japan. PARTICIPANTS: The subjects included 300 adults with TBI who underwent a rehabilitation in-patient program at the hospital at the Kanagawa Rehabilitation Center. METHODS: Individual and group programs were designed for TBI clients using an interdisciplinary teamwork model including supported employment. All clients were evaluated by the Barthel Index,…WAIS-R, and social outcome. RESULTS: Overall, at discharge from the hospital, 46.4% of 300 clients were placed in gainful employment or returned to the school they had attended previously. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a high prevalence of cognitive and behavioral disorders after moderate-to-severe TBI, long-term functional improvement is likely to occur in clients with TBI. Greater gains in both physical and cognitive functions are made through a multidisciplinary, wide-ranging, comprehensive approach to rehabilitation.
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Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to assess the self-perceived knowledge and skills of Japanese job coaches and to examine whether their knowledge and skills differed across employment settings. PARTICIPANTS: The 479 job coaches at Work Support Centers or Work Support Agencies comprised the study population. METHODS: A Japanese version of the 80-item Self-Assessment for Students or Counselors (SASC-J) was mailed to all the Work Support Centers and Agencies. RESULTS: There was no…significant difference on any of the SASC-J 8 subsystems mean scores between Work Support Agencies and Work Support Centers. The highest mean score of these 2 employment settings was the "Placement Personal" (2.30 and 2.31), and the lowest was the "Education" (1.40 and 1.46). The overall mean score of the SASC-J was 1.82 (SD=0.63). A significant relationship was found between the years of experience and the SASC-J (r=0.30, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Since the average below 3.0 on the SASC would mean that "you need to read a textbook on placement and/or a course in Placement", the result of the current study suggested that Japanese job coaches, regardless of the employment settings, need to learn more about the systematic placement technique. Further studies are encouraged to assess the training outcome of the job coach.
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Keywords: Supported employment, training, education, systems approach to placement
