Plenaries usually run from 10:45 a.m. to noon and are held at: Institute for Work & Health, 481 University Avenue, Suite 800, Toronto (Directions). To confirm your attendance, please RSVP to Lyudmila Mansurova (lmansurova@iwh.on.ca or 416-927-2027 ext. 2137). Other events associated with IWH may be listed under Workshops or Upcoming Events.
Return-to-work coordination, the what, when, how, where and by whom: Findings from the Intervention Mapping Project Dr. Carlo Ammendolia, Institute for Work & HealthIn Ontario, as in other jurisdictions, return to work (RTW) and disability prevention have become high priorities for employers and insurers given the increasing duration of lost-time claims in recent years. Research evidence suggests that RTW coordination may be helpful in improving RTW. However, details on how to successfully implement a RTW program based on RTW coordination are lacking. Intervention mapping is a methodology that is used to develop and implement complex interventions or programs. We used this approach to develop a RTW program based on RTW coordination that is tailored to the Ontario setting. In this plenary, the methodology used and the findings will be described.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The role of patients’ beliefs in predicting return to work following operatively managed tibial fracture Dr. Jason Busse, Institute for Work & HealthWhat role do patients’ beliefs play in their likelihood of recovery from severe physical trauma? Can these beliefs be measured in order to help predict long-term outcomes?
Dr. Jason Busse, an IWH scientist, will present findings from a study that explored these questions. He and his research team developed and validated an instrument designed to capture the impact of patients’ beliefs on functional recovery from injury. The instrument, called the somatic preoccupation and coping (SPOC) questionnaire, was administered to 359 patients who had undergone operations for tibial shaft fractures. The relationship between their SPOC scores and functional outcomes one year later were then measured.
Busse found that the six-week SPOC scores were a far more powerful predictor of functional recovery than age, gender, fracture type, smoking status or the presence of multi-trauma. This led him to conclude that the SPOC questionnaire is a valid measurement of illness beliefs in tibial fracture patients and is highly predictive of their long-term functional recovery.
