A Sensibility Assessment of the Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool (JDAPT): A Tool to Help Workers with an Episodic Disability Plan Workplace Support.

Purpose Sensibility refers to a tool's comprehensiveness, understandability, relevance, feasibility, and length. It is used in the early development phase to begin assessing a new tool or intervention. This study examined the sensibility of the job demands and accommodation planning tool (JDAPT). The JDAPT identifies job demands related to physical, cognitive, interpersonal, and working conditions to better target strategies for workplace supports and accommodations aimed at assisting individuals with chronic health conditions. Methods Workers with a chronic health condition and workplace representatives were recruited from health charities, workplaces, and newsletters using convenience sampling. Cognitive interviews assessed the JDAPT's sensibility. A 70% endorsement rate was the minimum level of acceptability for sensibility concepts. A short screening tool also was administered, and answers compared to the complete JDAPT. Results Participants were 46 workers and 23 organizational representatives (n = 69). Endorsements highly exceeded the 70% cut-off for understandability, relevance, and length. Congruence between screening questions and the complete JDAPT suggested both workers and organizational representatives overlooked job demands when completing the screener. Participants provided additional examples and three new items to improve comprehensiveness. The JDAPT was rated highly relevant and useful, although not always easy to complete for someone with an episodic condition. Conclusions This study highlights the need for tools that facilitate accommodations for workers with episodic disabilities and provides early evidence for the sensibility of the JDAPT.

Disclosure, Privacy and Workplace Accommodation of Episodic Disabilities: Organizational Perspectives on Disability Communication-Support Processes to Sustain Employment.

Purpose Employers increasingly are asked to accommodate workers living with physical and mental health conditions that cause episodic disability, where periods of wellness are punctuated by intermittent and often unpredictable activity limitations (e.g., depression, anxiety, arthritis, colitis). Episodic disabilities may be challenging for workplaces which must comply with legislation protecting the privacy of health information while believing they would benefit from personal health details to meet a worker's accommodation needs. This research aimed to understand organizational perspectives on disability communication-support processes. Methods Twenty-seven participants from diverse employment sectors and who had responsibilities for supporting workers living with episodic disabilities (e.g., supervisors, disability managers, union representatives, occupational health representatives, labour lawyers) were interviewed. Five participants also had lived experience of a physical or mental health episodic disability. Participants were recruited through organizational associations, community networks and advertising. Semi-structured interviews and qualitative content analysis framed data collection and analyses, and mapped communication-support processes. Results Seven themes underpinned communication-support process: (1) similarities and differences among physical and mental health episodic disabilities; (2) cultures of workplace support, including contrasting medical and biopsychosocial perspectives; (3) misgivings about others and their role in communication-support processes; (4) that subjective perceptions matter; (5) the inherent complexity of the response process; (6) challenges arising when a worker denies a disability; and (7) casting disability as a performance problem. Conclusions This study identifies a conceptual framework and areas where workplace disability support processes could be enhanced to improve inclusion and the sustainability of employment among workers living with episodic disabilities.

Examining Exposure Assessment in Shift Work Research: A Study on Depression Among Nurses.

Introduction: Coarse exposure assessment and assignment is a common issue facing epidemiological studies of shift work. Such measures ignore a number of exposure characteristics that may impact on health, increasing the likelihood of biased effect estimates and masked exposure-response relationships. To demonstrate the impacts of exposure assessment precision in shift work research, this study investigated relationships between work schedule and depression in a large survey of Canadian nurses. Methods: The Canadian 2005 National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses provided the analytic sample (n = 11450). Relationships between work schedule and depression were assessed using logistic regression models with high, moderate, and low-precision exposure groupings. The high-precision grouping described shift timing and rotation frequency, the moderate-precision grouping described shift timing, and the low-precision grouping described the presence/absence of shift work. Final model estimates were adjusted for the potential confounding effects of demographic and work variables, and bootstrap weights were used to generate sampling variances that accounted for the survey sample design. Results: The high-precision exposure grouping model showed the strongest relationships between work schedule and depression, with increased odds ratios [ORs] for rapidly rotating (OR = 1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.91-2.51) and undefined rotating (OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 0.92-3.02) shift workers, and a decreased OR for depression in slow rotating (OR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.57-1.08) shift workers. For the low- and moderate-precision exposure grouping models, weak relationships were observed for all work schedule categories (OR range 0.95 to 0.99). Conclusions: Findings from this study support the need to consider and collect the data required for precise and conceptually driven exposure assessment and assignment in future studies of shift work and health. Further research into the effects of shift rotation frequency on depression is also recommended.

How Do Organizational Policies and Practices Affect Return to Work and Work Role Functioning Following a Musculoskeletal Injury?

Purpose Organizational-level policies and practices that promote safety leadership and practices, disability management and ergonomic policies and practices are considered key contextual determinants of return to work. Our objective was to examine the role of worker-reported organizational policies and practices (OPPs) in return to work (RTW) and work role functioning (WRF) and the mediating role of pain self-efficacy and work accommodation. Methods A worker cohort (n = 577) in Ontario, Canada was followed at 1, 6 and 12 months post injury. Both RTW (yes/no) and WRF (WLQ-16) status (3 levels) were measured. OPPs were measured (high vs. low) at 1 month post-injury. Pain self-efficacy (PSE) and work accommodation (WA) were included in mediation analyses. Results OPPs predicted RTW at 6 months (adjusted OR 1.77; 95 % CI 1.07-2.93) and 12 months (adjusted OR 2.07; 95 % CI 1.18-3.62). OPPs predicted WRF at 6 months, but only the transition from working with limitations to working without limitations (adjusted OR 3.21; 95 % CI 1.92-5.39). At 12 months, OPPs predicted both the transition from not working to working with and without limitations and from not working or working with limitations to working without limitations (adjusted OR 2.13; 95 % CI 1.37-3.30). Offers of WA mediated the relationship between OPPs and both RTW and WRF at 6 months follow-up. PSE mediated the relationship between OPPs and RTW and WRF at 6 months. At 12 months neither mediated the relationship. Conclusions The findings support worker-reported OPPs as key determinants of both RTW and WRF. These results point to the importance of WA and PSE in both RTW and WRF at 6 months.

Course of Depressive Symptoms Following a Workplace Injury: A 12-Month Follow-Up Update.

Introduction To estimate the prevalence, incidence and course of depressive symptoms, their relationship with return-to-work, and prevalence of depression diagnosis/treatment 12 months following a lost-time workplace musculoskeletal injury. Methods In a prospective cohort study, 332 workers' compensation claimants with a back or upper extremity musculoskeletal disorder completed interviews at 1, 6 and 12 months post-injury. Participants self-reported they had not received a depression diagnosis 1 year pre-injury. Cutoff of 16 on the CES-D defined a high level of depressive symptoms. Self-reported data on depression diagnosis and treatment and work status since injury were collected. Results Cumulative incidence of high depressive symptom levels over 12 months was 50.3 % (95 % CI 44.9-55.7 %). At 12 months, 24.7 % (95 % CI 20.1-29.3 %) of workers exhibited high levels. Over 12 months, 49.7 % (95 % CI 44.3-55.1 %) had low levels at all 3 interviews, 14.5 % (95 % CI 10.7-18.2 %) had persistently high levels, and 25.6 % (95 % CI 20.9-30.3 %) demonstrated improvements. Among workers with low baseline levels, incidence of high levels at 12 months was 6.0 % (95 % CI 2.7-9.3 %). For workers with high baseline levels, 36.1 % (95 % CI 27.9-44.3 %) exhibited persistent high symptoms at 6 and 12 months, while 38.4 % (95 % CI 30.1-46.6 %) experienced low levels at 6 and 12 months. Problematic RTW outcomes were common among workers with a poor depressive symptom course. Among workers with persistent high symptoms, 18.8 % (95 % CI 7.7-29.8 %) self-reported receiving a depression diagnosis by 12 months and 29.2 % (95 % CI 16.3-42.0 %) were receiving treatment at 12 months. Conclusions Depressive symptoms are common in the first year following a lost-time musculoskeletal injury and a poor depressive symptom course is associated with problematic RTW outcomes 12 months post-injury. While symptoms appear to improve over time, the first 6 months appear to be important in establishing future symptom levels and may represent a window of opportunity for early screening.

The Added Value of Collecting Information on Pain Experience When Predicting Time on Benefits for Injured Workers with Back Pain.

Objectives Some injured workers with work-related, compensated back pain experience a troubling course in return to work. A prediction tool was developed in an earlier study, using administrative data only. This study explored the added value of worker reported data in identifying those workers with back pain at higher risk of being on benefits for a longer period of time. Methods This was a cohort study of workers with compensated back pain in 2005 in Ontario. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) data was used. As well, we examined the added value of patient-reported prognostic factors obtained from a prospective cohort study. Improvement of model fit was determined by comparing area under the curve (AUC) statistics. The outcome measure was time on benefits during a first workers' compensation claim for back pain. Follow-up was 2 years. Results Among 1442 workers with WSIB data still on full benefits at 4 weeks, 113 were also part of the prospective cohort study. Model fit of an established rule in the smaller dataset of 113 workers was comparable to the fit previously established in the larger dataset. Adding worker rating of pain at baseline improved the rule substantially (AUC = 0.80, 95 % CI 0.68, 0.91 compared to benefit status at 180 days, AUC = 0.88, 95 % CI 0.74, 1.00 compared to benefits status at 360 days). Conclusion Although data routinely collected by workers' compensation boards show some ability to predict prolonged time on benefits, adding information on experienced pain reported by the worker improves the predictive ability of the model from 'fairly good' to 'good'. In this study, a combination of prognostic factors, reported by multiple stakeholders, including the worker, could identify those at high risk of extended duration on disability benefits and in potentially in need of additional support at the individual level.

Workplace interventions to prevent work disability in workers on sick leave.

BACKGROUND: Work disability has serious consequences for individuals as well as society. It is possible to facilitate resumption of work by reducing barriers to return to work (RTW) and promoting collaboration with key stakeholders. This review was first published in 2009 and has now been updated to include studies published up to February 2015. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of workplace interventions in preventing work disability among sick-listed workers, when compared to usual care or clinical interventions. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Work Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO databases on 2 February 2015. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of workplace interventions that aimed to improve RTW for disabled workers. We only included studies where RTW or conversely sickness absence was reported as a continuous outcome. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias of the studies. We performed meta-analysis where possible, and we assessed the quality of evidence according to GRADE criteria. We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. MAIN RESULTS: We included 14 RCTs with 1897 workers. Eight studies included workers with musculoskeletal disorders, five workers with mental health problems, and one workers with cancer. We judged six studies to have low risk of bias for the outcome sickness absence.Workplace interventions significantly improved time until first RTW compared to usual care, moderate-quality evidence (hazard ratio (HR) 1.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.20 to 2.01). Workplace interventions did not considerably reduce time to lasting RTW compared to usual care, very low-quality evidence (HR 1.07, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.57). The effect on cumulative duration of sickness absence showed a mean difference of -33.33 (95% CI -49.54 to -17.12), favouring the workplace intervention, high-quality evidence. One study assessed recurrences of sick leave, and favoured usual care, moderate-quality evidence (HR 0.42, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.82). Overall, the effectiveness of workplace interventions on work disability showed varying results.In subgroup analyses, we found that workplace interventions reduced time to first and lasting RTW among workers with musculoskeletal disorders more than usual care (HR 1.44, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.82 and HR 1.77, 95% CI 1.37 to 2.29, respectively; both moderate-quality evidence). In studies of workers with musculoskeletal disorders, pain also improved (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.26, 95% CI -0.47 to -0.06), as well as functional status (SMD -0.33, 95% CI -0.58 to -0.08). In studies of workers with mental health problems, there was a significant improvement in time until first RTW (HR 2.64, 95% CI 1.41 to 4.95), but no considerable reduction in lasting RTW (HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.54 to 1.17). One study of workers with cancer did not find a considerable reduction in lasting RTW (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.53 to 1.47).In another subgroup analysis, we did not find evidence that offering a workplace intervention in combination with a cognitive behavioural intervention (HR 1.93, 95% CI 1.27 to 2.93) is considerably more effective than offering a workplace intervention alone (HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.82, test for subgroup differences P = 0.17).Workplace interventions did not considerably reduce time until first RTW compared with a clinical intervention in workers with mental health problems in one study (HR 2.65, 95% CI 1.42 to 4.95, very low-quality evidence). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: We found moderate-quality evidence that workplace interventions reduce time to first RTW, high-quality evidence that workplace interventions reduce cumulative duration of sickness absence, very low-quality evidence that workplace interventions reduce time to lasting RTW, and moderate-quality evidence that workplace interventions increase recurrences of sick leave. Overall, the effectiveness of workplace interventions on work disability showed varying results. Workplace interventions reduce time to RTW and improve pain and functional status in workers with musculoskeletal disorders. We found no evidence of a considerable effect of workplace interventions on time to RTW in workers with mental health problems or cancer.We found moderate-quality evidence to support workplace interventions for workers with musculoskeletal disorders. The quality of the evidence on the effectiveness of workplace interventions for workers with mental health problems and cancer is low, and results do not show an effect of workplace interventions for these workers. Future research should expand the range of health conditions evaluated with high-quality studies.

The Predictive Validity of the Return-to-Work Self-Efficacy Scale for Return-to-Work Outcomes in Claimants with Musculoskeletal Disorders.

PURPOSE: To examine the predictive validity of the Return-to-Work Self-Efficacy (RTWSE) Scale in terms of the scale's baseline absolute values and of changes in self-efficacy scores, with the outcome of return-to-work (RTW) status in a sample of injured workers with upper extremity and back musculoskeletal disorders. METHODS: RTWSE was measured with a 10-item scale assessing Overall RTWSE and three self-efficacy subdomains: (1) ability to cope with pain, (2) ability to obtain help from supervisor and (3) ability to obtain help from co-workers. Outcome measures included RTW status (yes/no) measured at 6- and 12-month follow-up. RTWSE improvement was defined as an increase in self-efficacy scores between baseline and 6-month follow-up time points. Logistic regression analyses were performed with RTW status as the dependent variable and adjusted for age, gender, educational level, personal income, pain site, pain severity, functional status, and depressive symptoms, and for baseline RTWSE scores in the improvement score analyses. RESULTS: A total of 632 claimants completed the baseline telephone interview 1 month post-injury; 446 subjects completed the 6-month interview (71 %) and 383 subjects completed the 12-month interview (61 %). The baseline Pain RTWSE scores were found to be useful to predict RTW status 6 months post-injury, with a trend for baseline Overall RTWSE. Improvements over time in Overall RTWSE and in Co-worker RTWSE were found to be useful to predict 12-month RTW status, with trends for improvements in Supervisor RTWSE and Pain RTWSE. CONCLUSION: The study found evidence supporting the predictive validity of the RTWSE scale within 12 months after injury. The RTWSE scale may be a potentially valuable scale in research and in managing work disabled claimants with musculoskeletal disorders.

The ideal of consumer choice in social services: challenges with implementation in an Ontario injured worker vocational retraining programme.

PURPOSE: Social service programmes that offer consumer choices are intended to guide service efficiency and customer satisfaction. However, little is known about how social service consumers actually make choices and how providers deliver such services. This article details the practical implementation of consumer choice in a Canadian workers' compensation vocational retraining programme. METHOD: Discourse analysis was conducted of in-depth interviews and focus groups with 71 injured workers and service providers, who discussed their direct experience of a vocational retraining system. Data also included procedural, policy and administrative documents. RESULTS: Consumer choice included workers being offered choices about some service aspects, but not being able to exercise meaningful discretion. Programme cost objectives and restrictive rules and bureaucracy skewed the guidance provided to workers by service providers. If workers did not make the "right" choices, then the service providers were required to make choices for them. This upset workers and created tension for service providers. CONCLUSIONS: The ideal of consumer choice in a social service programme was difficult to enact, both for workers and service providers. Processes to increase quality of guidance to social service consumers and to create a systematic feedback look between system designers and consumers are recommended. Implications for Rehabilitation Consumer choice is an increasingly popular concept in social service systems. Vocational case managers can have their own administrative needs and tensions, which do not always align with the client's choices. Rehabilitation programmes need to have processes for considering what choices are important to clients and the resources to support them.

Pain-related work interference is a key factor in a worker/workplace model of work absence duration due to musculoskeletal conditions in Canadian nurses.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of pain experiences in relation to work absence, within the context of other worker health factors and workplace factors among Canadian nurses with work-related musculoskeletal (MSK) injury. METHODS: Structural equation modeling was used on a sample of 941 employed, female, direct care nurses with at least one day of work absence due to a work-related MSK injury, from the cross-sectional 2005 National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses. RESULTS: The final model suggests that pain severity and pain-related work interference mediate the impact of the following worker health and workplace factors on work absence duration: depression, back problems, age, unionization, workplace physical demands and low job control. The model accounted for 14 % of the variance in work absence duration and 46.6 % of the variance in pain-related work interference. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support a key role for pain severity and pain-related work interference in mediating the effects of workplace factors and worker health factors on work absence duration. Future interventions should explore reducing pain-related work interference through addressing workplace issues, such as providing modified work, reducing physical demands, and increasing job control.

When health care workers experience mental ill health: institutional practices of silence.

Based on findings from an institutional ethnography in a large mental health organization, we explore how institutional forces shape the experiences of health care workers with mental health issues. We interviewed 20 employees about their personal experiences with mental health issues and work and 12 workplace stakeholders about their interactions with workers who had mental health issues. We also reviewed organizational texts related to health, illness, and productivity. In analyzing transcripts and texts, silence emerged as a core underlying process characterizing individual and organizational responses to employees with mental health issues. Silence was an active practice that took many forms; it was pervasive, complex, and at times, paradoxical. It served many functions for workers and the organization. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings for workers with mental health issues.

Experiences and perspectives of physical therapists managing patients covered by workers' compensation in Queensland, Australia.

BACKGROUND: Physical therapists have an active role in the rehabilitation of injured workers. However, regulations in Queensland, Australia, do not afford them the opportunity to participate in return-to-work (RTW) decisions in a standardized way. No prior research has explored the experiences and perceptions of therapists in determining work capacity. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate physical therapists' experiences with and perspectives on their role in determining readiness for RTW and work capacity for patients receiving workers' compensation in Queensland. Design A qualitative design was used. Participants were physical therapists who manage injured workers. METHODS: Novice (n=5) and experienced (n=20) therapists managing patients receiving workers' compensation were selected through purposeful sampling to participate in a focus group or semistructured telephone interviews. Data obtained were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were thematically analyzed. Physical therapists' confidence in making RTW decisions was determined with 1 question scored on a 0 to 10 scale. RESULTS: Themes identified were: (1) physical therapists believe they are important in RTW, (2) physical therapists use a variety of methods to determine work capacity, and (3) physical therapists experience a lack of role clarity. Therapists made recommendations for RTW using clinical judgment informed by subjective and objective information gathered from the injured worker. Novice therapists were less confident in making RTW decisions. CONCLUSION: Therapists are well situated to gather and interpret the information necessary to make RTW recommendations. Strategies targeting the Australian Physiotherapy Association, physical therapists, and the regulators are needed to standardize assessment of readiness for RTW, improve role clarity, and assist novice practitioners.

Workplace-based work disability prevention interventions for workers with common mental health conditions: a review of the literature.

INTRODUCTION: To summarize evidence on workplace-based work disability prevention (WDP) interventions in workers with common mental health conditions (CMHCs). Primary outcomes of interest were work absence duration and work functioning; secondary outcomes were quality of life, and economic costs. METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature search in 5 electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Web of Science) for studies published from 2007 to 2009. Two reviewers screened for studies: (1) Targeting workers with CMHCs absent from, or struggling at, work; (2) evaluating workplace-based WDP interventions; (3) assessing our primary outcome(s); and (4) with controlled trials. Quality assessment (using 29 criteria) was performed by two reviewers. RESULTS: Our search yielded 671 abstracts: 8 eligible studies and of sufficient quality. We identified three main intervention elements: (a) Facilitation of access to clinical treatment; (b) Workplace-based high-intensity psychological intervention; and (c) Facilitation of navigation through the disability management system. Moderate evidence was found that facilitation of treatment improved work functioning, quality of life and economic outcomes, with limited evidence for work absence duration. Moderate evidence was found that psychological interventions, primarily cognitive-behavioral therapy, improved work functioning, quality of life, and economic outcomes. Moderate evidence indicated that facilitation of navigation through the disability management system improved work absence duration. CONCLUSIONS: Workplace-based interventions could improve work disability outcomes for workers with CMHCs. Facilitation of access to clinical treatment, and workplace-based high-intensity psychological intervention were most effective in improving work functioning and quality of life, and in reducing costs.

Evaluation of the fear-avoidance model with health care workers experiencing acute/subacute pain.

Studies in the literature do not show clear evidence supporting the relationship between pain and depressive symptoms in individuals experiencing acute/subacute pain compared to those experiencing chronic pain. However, more information is needed about which variables act as mediators in the pain-depression relationship in people having acute/subacute pain, before pain becomes chronic. Our objectives were to test the suitability of the fear-avoidance model in a sample of 110 health care workers experiencing acute/subacute pain using path analyses, to improve the model as needed, and to examine a model involving both pain catastrophizing and pain self-efficacy with work status as a final outcome. Overall, the results indicated that adjustments to the fear-avoidance model were required for people experiencing acute/subacute pain, in which fear-avoidance beliefs and depressive symptoms were concurrent rather than sequential. The catastrophizing concept was most closely associated with depressive symptoms, while pain self-efficacy was directly associated with fear-avoidance beliefs and indirectly to work outcomes. Assessing and modifying pain self-efficacy in acute/subacute pain patients is important for interventions aiming to decrease fear-avoidance and improve work outcomes.

Examining the impact of worker and workplace factors on prolonged work absences among Canadian nurses.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of worker and workplace factors and of their relationships on work absence duration. METHODS: Structural equation modeling of 11,762 female, Canadian nurses from the 2005 National Survey of the Work and Health of Nurses. RESULTS: Worker and workplace factors were associated with prolonged work absence. Key proximal predictors were pain-related work interference, depression, pain severity, and respect and support at work. More distal predictors were multimorbidity, abuse at work, and organizational culture. CONCLUSIONS: Worker health and workplace factors are important in explaining work absence duration. Self-management for pain and mood, adapted to the work context, may be useful for nurses with chronic pain or depression. Policy makers and administrators should focus on creating respect and support at work, and improving organizational culture.

Return-to-work self-efficacy: development and validation of a scale in claimants with musculoskeletal disorders.

INTRODUCTION We report on the development and validation of a 10-item scale assessing self-efficacy within the return-to-work context, the Return-to-Work Self-Efficacy (RTWSE) scale. METHODS Lost-time claimants completed a telephone survey 1 month (n = 632) and 6 months (n = 446) after a work-related musculoskeletal injury. Exploratory (Varimax and Promax rotation) and confirmatory factor analyses of self-efficacy items were conducted with two separate subsamples at both time points. Construct validity was examined by comparing scale measurements and theoretically derived constructs, and the phase specificity of RTWSE was studied by examining changes in strength of relationships between the RTWSE Subscales and the other constructs at both time measures. RESULTS Factor analyses supported three underlying factors: (1) Obtaining help from supervisor, (2) Coping with pain (3) Obtaining help from co-workers. Internal consistency (alpha) for the three subscales ranged from 0.66 to 0.93. The total variance explained was 68% at 1-month follow-up and 76% at 6-month follow-up. Confirmatory factor analyses had satisfactory fit indices to confirm the initial model. With regard to construct validity: relationships of RTWSE with depressive symptoms, fear-avoidance, pain, and general health, were generally in the hypothesized direction. However, the hypothesis that less advanced stages of change on the Readiness for RTW scale would be associated with lower RTWSE could not be completely confirmed: on all RTWSE subscales, RTWSE decreased significantly for a subset of participants who started working again. Moreover, only Pain RTWSE was significantly associated with RTW status and duration of work disability. With regard to the phase specificity, the strength of association between RTWSE and other constructs was stronger at 6 months post-injury compared to 1 month post-injury. CONCLUSIONS A final 10-item version of the RTWSE has adequate internal consistency and validity to assess the confidence of injured workers to obtain help from supervisor and co-workers and to cope with pain. With regard to phase specificity, stronger associations between RTWSE and other constructs at 6-month follow-up suggest that the association between these psychological constructs consolidates over time after the disruptive event of the injury.

Further validation of the BDI-II among people with chronic pain originating from musculoskeletal disorders.

OBJECTIVE: One criticism of the BDI-II for assessing depressive symptoms in people experiencing chronic pain has been the potential overlap between the physical or psychological origins of some of the symptoms. Furthermore, previous studies have reported both two-factor and three-factor solutions, so that the factor solution of the instrument in this population remains unclear. The main objective of the present study was to validate the BDI-II with a chronic pain population experiencing musculoskeletal disorders. Three specific objectives were: (1) to modify the BDI-II for people with musculoskeletal disorders by adding sub-questions to better identify the perceived cause of the depressive symptoms, (2) to assess the validity and reliability of this modified version of the BDI-II, and (3) to explore the perceptions of the causes/origins of symptoms reported on the BDI-II. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the presence of three dimensions within the BDI- : Cognitive, Affective and Somatic. METHODS: A total of 206 participants experiencing chronic pain answered a modified version of the BDI-II, the CES-D and a sociodemographic questionnaire. RESULTS: Results confirmed the three-dimensional factorial structure of the BDI for this population. Overall, participants experienced higher levels of somatic symptoms compared to symptoms belonging to other dimensions. The percentages of answers to the sub-questions were also similarly distributed between "pain", and "pain and state of mind", regardless of the dimension. DISCUSSION: The importance of assessing somatic symptoms of depression in pain patients and of thoroughly examining the underlying perceived cause of symptoms, regardless of the dimension, are discussed.

Five questions predicted long-term, severe, back-related functional limitations: evidence from three large prospective studies.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study were as follows: (1) to investigate whether the predictive validity of a previously developed back pain prediction rule could be improved; (2) to determine if the rule can be shortened without loss of predictive validity; (3) to compare the rule with the physician's judgment; (4) to assess, in a different population, its 2-year predictive validity; and (5) to evaluate the clinical applicability of the rule in a first-line care setting. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: One thousand two hundred and sixty-two participants were enrolled in the study (participation: 91%) before a medical consultation for nonspecific back pain in a large emergency room and were followed up for 2 years (follow-up: 92.5%). The effects of adding new items and deleting any one of the original items were evaluated. The predictions by the rule and the physicians were compared with the 2-year actual functional limitations (measured with the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire). RESULTS: Although the final prediction rule included only five items (feeling everything is an effort, trouble getting breath, hot/cold spells, numbness/tingling in parts of body, and pain in heart/chest), its predictive validity was greater than that of the original 17-item version and was superior to the physician's prediction. The rule was easily applied. CONCLUSION: A five-item clinical prediction rule of long-term back-related functional limitations could help first-line care physicians to concentrate the clinical attention on patients at higher risk.

Early employer response to workplace injury: what injured workers perceive as fair and why these perceptions matter.

The authors examined whether early employer response to workplace injury affects injured workers' subsequent attitudes and mental health. At 1 month and 6 months postinjury, telephone surveys were conducted with 344 workers from Ontario, Canada, who had experienced a musculoskeletal lost-time workplace injury. One-month reports of initial supervisor reaction to the injury and the use of workplace-based return-to-work strategies (early contact with worker, ergonomic assessment, presence of designated coordinator, accommodation offer) were hypothesized to predict reports of fairness, affective commitment, and depressive symptoms measured at 6 months postinjury. Structural equation modeling supported a model wherein fairness perceptions fully mediated the relationship between early responses and injured workers' attitudes and mental health. Early contact and supervisor reactions were significant predictors of fairness perceptions. The implications for early employer response are discussed.

Work functioning measurement: tools for occupational mental health research.

OBJECTIVE: To review the status of work functioning research in workers with common mental disorders (CMDs) and also the work functioning measurement instruments. We distinguish between productivity, work role limitations, quality of work output, and extra effort required to remain productive. METHODS: Two systematic literature studies; the first to identify articles that measured work functioning in workers with CMDs, and the second to identify work functioning measurement instruments. RESULTS: Work functioning is mostly studied in relation to clinical factors. Instruments with acceptable psychometric properties exist for measuring productivity and work role limitations. CONCLUSIONS: Further exploration of work-related determinants of work functioning is needed to develop more work-focused interventions. Existing instruments have to be tested in workers with CMDs. New work functioning instruments are needed to integrate the quality of work output and the effort required to remain productive.