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Injured workers’ perspectives of their rehabilitation process under the New South Wales Workers Compensation System
Author(s) -
Sager Lorraine,
James Carole
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
australian occupational therapy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1440-1630
pISSN - 0045-0766
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1630.2005.00477.x
Subject(s) - rehabilitation , occupational rehabilitation , workers' compensation , occupational therapy , compensation (psychology) , qualitative research , process (computing) , occupational safety and health , perception , nursing , work (physics) , medicine , psychology , physical therapy , social psychology , engineering , sociology , social science , mechanical engineering , pathology , neuroscience , computer science , operating system
Aim: Occupational injury and the process of rehabilitation can impact significantly on an individual's life. Research on the perspectives of injured workers, and their perceptions of the occupational therapy role, is limited.Method: A qualitative, phenomenological study explored the experiences of six injured workers, from a large regional area health service, who had undergone occupational rehabilitation within the NSW Workers Compensation System. Data were collected through the use of in‐depth, semistructured interviews and were analysed inductively.Results: Injured workers have a limited knowledge and understanding of the rehabilitation process, feel unsupported throughout the process, have unsatisfying return‐to‐work duties and often experience negative attitudes from key stakeholders.Conclusion: The results highlight the opportunity for occupational therapists to increase their role within occupational rehabilitation; however, they need to adopt a more holistic approach to their practice.