Exploring Canadian Career Firefighters' Understanding of the Return-to-Work Process After Musculoskeletal Injuries.

Autor: Killip SC; School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, 1400 Main Street West IAHS 403, Hamilton, ON, L8S 1C7, Canada. killips@mcmaster.ca., MacDermid JC; School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, 1400 Main Street West IAHS 403, Hamilton, ON, L8S 1C7, Canada.; Physical Therapy and Surgery, Western University, London, ON, Canada.; Clinical Research Lab, Hand and Upper Limb Centre, St. Joseph's Health Centre, London, ON, Canada., Thayalan N; Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West Ivor Wynne Centre, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada., Lomotan M; School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, 1400 Main Street West IAHS 403, Hamilton, ON, L8S 1C7, Canada., Gewurtz RE; School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, 1400 Main Street West IAHS 403, Hamilton, ON, L8S 1C7, Canada., Sinden KE; School of Kinesiology, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Rd, Thunder Bay, ON, P7B 5E1, Canada.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of occupational rehabilitation [J Occup Rehabil] 2024 Sep; Vol. 34 (3), pp. 582-593. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Nov 08.
DOI: 10.1007/s10926-023-10147-x
Abstrakt: Purpose: Firefighters perform dangerous and physically demanding work, increasing their risk of musculoskeletal injuries that can lead to work absences. Return-to-work procedures can help firefighters return-to-work sooner and safely. The purpose of this study was to explore what firefighters understand about return-to-work procedures in their workplaces, and what firefighters believe the facilitators and barriers to return-to-work are.
Methods: Thirty-eight Canadian career firefighters were recruited for semi-structured interviews. Qualitative descriptive methods were used to analyze the transcripts. Two researchers performed the inductive coding and thematic analysis.
Results: Five themes were identified: 1. Variation in the return-to-work process knowledge among firefighters based on their experiences; 2. Accessible medical resources and treatments to support injury recovery; 3. Light duties must be meaningful and suitable; 4. Pressures to return-to-work too soon may lead to negative consequences; and 5. Heavy physical demands of firefighting may become a barrier for return-to-work. 'Factors affecting RTW depended on personal experiences and context' was the overarching theme identified, as many reported facilitators for return-to-work were also reported as barriers in different contexts. There was a variation in the experiences and understanding of return-to-work.
Conclusion: There is a lack of knowledge of the return-to-work processes. Firefighters require access to clear return-to-work policies and procedures and treatments that are targeted to firefighting duties to support recovery from injuries and regain physical abilities after an injury. Firefighters must be able to perform all essential duties before returning to firefighting work, as returning to work too soon can lead to further injury.
(© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: