Musculoskeletal injuries in the fire service: views from a focus group study.

1. The focus group is a qualitative data collection method involving carefully planned small group discussions designed to obtain perceptions on a defined area of interest. Focus groups can be used by occupational health nurses for gathering ecologically based, in-depth needs assessment information from workers prior to program planning. 2. Occupational health nurses can be guided in their needs assessments by an ecological framework that considers the person, workplace, and situational factors that contribute to occupational health problems. 3. A focus group study of fire chiefs and firefighters used an ecological framework to elicit participants' perceptions of the factors that contribute to musculoskeletal injury and the preventive strategies that would be acceptable to them. Participants shared their insights, motivations, and feelings about the factors, thus suggesting concepts and hypotheses to be explored further. 4. The occupational health nurse needs to consider the differing meanings that management and workers attach to an occupational health problem.

A case management tool for occupational health nurses: development, testing, and application.

1. Case management is a process of coordinating an individual client's health care services to achieve optimal, quality care delivered in a cost effective manner. The case manager establishes a provider network, recommends treatment plans that assure quality and efficacy while controlling costs, monitors outcomes, and maintains a strong communication link among all the parties. 2. Through development of audit tools such as the one presented in this article, occupational health nurses can document case management activities and provide employers with measurable outcomes. 3. The Case Management Activity Checklist was tested using data from 61 firefighters' musculoskeletal injury cases. 4. The activities on the checklist are a step by step process: case identification/case disposition; assessment; return to work plan; resource identification; collaborative communication; and evaluation.