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The impact of work‐related musculoskeletal disorders on workers' caregiving activities
Author(s) -
Franche RenéeLouise,
Pole Jason D.,
HoggJohnson Sheilah,
Vidmar Marjan,
Breslin Curtis
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.20352
Subject(s) - medicine , musculoskeletal disorder , occupational medicine , occupational exposure , physical therapy , gerontology , environmental health , human factors and ergonomics , poison control
Background The purpose of the study was to describe and quantify the impact of work‐related musculoskeletal disorders on workers' caregiving activities. Methods A cross‐sectional study was conducted in which a telephone survey was administered to 187 lost‐time workers' compensation claimants from Ontario, of whom 49.2% were women. Forty‐eight percent of the injured workers were providing unpaid care prior to the injury. Results Injured workers providing caregiving reported an average reduction in time spent in caregiving activities of 5.5 hr/week, 8 months post‐injury. A Sex X Return‐to‐work status ANCOVA was conducted with difference in caregiving hours as the dependent variable, and with the following covariates: Mean number of caregiving hours, comorbidities, site of injury, and education. Independent of weekly hours of caregiving, decreases in caregiving hours were significantly higher if the worker was a woman or had not returned to work. Conclusions Work‐related musculoskeletal disorders have a significant impact on workers' time spent in unpaid caregiving activities, an example of the social consequences of occupational injuries. Occupational and caregiving roles are limited by work‐related disorders in a parallel fashion. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.