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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: BACKGROUND: Manual orange harvesting is very laborious, time consuming and unsafe operation whereas neither mechanical harvesting nor mechanized hand harvesting is possible in north-east India due to its hilly terrains. The awkward postures and repetitive nature of work in orange harvesting, demands a comfortable and appropriate hand harvester for hilly region. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to develop a manual orange harvester for hilly regions considering the ergonomic parameters, and compare the performance with the existing models of the manual harvester. PARTICIPANTS: In this study twenty healthy experienced orchard workers (10 male and…10 female) participated who did not have any previous functional musculoskeletal disorders. METHODS: We developed a manual orange harvester by eliminating the problems associated with the existing harvesters. The developed model along with existing models was evaluated extensively in the field. During evaluations, heart rate of the subjects was measured and oxygen consumption was predicted to calculate the energy expenditure rate (EER) from the established relationship in the laboratory before the field experiments. Further, performance parameters of orange harvester i.e. plucking rate (PR), damaged quantity (DQ), plucking energy requirement (PER) and discomfort rating were also observed. RESULTS: The PR was 425, 300 and 287 pieces per hour for the developed model (DM), first existing model (EM1) and second existing model (EM2), respectively. The DM showed lower PER (2.14 kJ/piece) followed by EM2 (2.95 kJ/piece) and EM1 (4.02 kJ/piece) which is considered as overall performance as it includes energy per unit of plucking. Further, the body part discomfort score revealed that DM was more comfortable in use followed by EM2 and EM1. CONCLUSIONS: The performance of the DM was found better in terms of plucking rate, energy requirement and body part discomfort than the other existing models. Shoulders and neck are the most affected body parts where all subjects felt severe discomfort.
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Keywords: Manual harvester, orange, heart rate, energy expenditure rate, discomfort
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Few studies concern the moderator effect of organizational identification between organizational justice and job satisfaction. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the trilateral relationship among organizational identification, organizational justice and job satisfaction, especially focus on the moderator effect of organizational identification. METHODS: 354 staffs completed the measures of organizational justice, organizational identification and job satisfaction. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analysis showed that organizational identification moderated the association between organizational justice and job satisfaction. When staffs reported a low level of organizational identification, those with high organizational justice reported higher scores in job satisfaction…than those with low organizational justice. However, the impact of organizational justice on job satisfaction was not significant in high organizational identification group. CONCLUSIONS: Organizational identification can significantly moderate the impact of organizational justice on job satisfaction. The significance and limitations of the results are discussed.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: The adoption of incorrect postures or carrying overweight backpacks may contribute to the development of musculoskeletal disorders in school children. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the weight of backpacks and the postural habits adopted in schools by Portuguese adolescents, and their association with scoliosis and low back pain (LBP). METHOD: The sample comprised 966 Portuguese students, aged between 10 and 16 years. The instruments included a questionnaire to characterize the presence of LBP and the postural habits adopted by students, the weighing of backpacks and a scoliometer to evaluate scoliosis. RESULTS: No association was…observed between assuming incorrect postures and carrying overweight backpacks, in students with scoliosis. Students who adopted incorrect sitting postures had 1.77 times the risk (95% CI: 1.32–2.36; p < 0.001) of developing LBP; those positioned incorrectly whilst watching TV and playing games had 1.44 times the risk (95% CI: 1.08–1.90; p = 0.012) of developing LBP; and those standing incorrectly had 2.39 the risk (95% CI: 1.52–3.78; p < 0.001) of developing LBP. CONCLUSIONS: The results revealed that students who sat with the spine positioned wrongly, as well as those who were standing incorrectly, were more likely to present with LBP.
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Keywords: Back disorders, behavioral risk factors, epidemiology, teenagers
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Return-to-work (RTW) programmes for injured workers have been prevalent in Western countries with established work injury management policies for decades. In recent years, more Asian countries have started to develop RTW programmes in the absence of work injury management policies. However, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of RTW programmes in Asia. OBJECTIVE: Return-to-work coordination has been found to be an important facilitator in RTW programmes. This study seeks to determine the effectiveness of a Return-to-work coordinator (RTWC) model of care in facilitating early RTW for injured workers in Singapore. METHODS: A randomized controlled…trial was used. 160 injured workers in a general hospital were randomly allocated to either control (receive usual hospital standard care) or intervention (assigned a RTWC) group. The RTWC closely supported RTW arrangements and proactively liaised with employers and healthcare professionals on RTW solutions for the injured workers. RESULTS: At three months post injury, workers in the intervention group RTW 10 days earlier than the control group, with a higher proportion of workers in the intervention group returning to modified jobs. There were no significant differences in the quality of life measures between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The addition of a RTWC into the hospital model of care is effective in facilitating early RTW for injured workers. This could be a potential model of care for injured workers in Asian countries where work injury management policies are not yet established.
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Keywords: Return to work, occupational rehabilitation, occupational therapy, worker’s compensation
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Few studies exist on the clinical utility of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) in vocational rehabilitation. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore how Slovenian occupational therapists working in vocational rehabilitation, perceived the usefulness of the COPM in their everyday practice. METHODS: A qualitative study using two focus group discussions was conducted. The meaning condensation method was applied to analyze the data. RESULTS: Analysis revealed the following key themes: (1) the COPM facilitates collaboration with the client; (2) the COPM is a source of evidence and empowerment for occupational…therapists; (3) the challenges that arise when using the COPM; (4) the use of COPM requires training; and (5) using the COPM results and understanding their meaning. CONCLUSIONS: The study reveals new insights into using the COPM results in occupational therapy, especially into the contextual factors that influence the meaning and importance of work for clients in vocational rehabilitation.
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Keywords: Client-centered occupational therapy, empowerment, return to work, employment, occupation
