The long-term goal of this research is to identify organizational practices and policies (OPPs) the effectively support the injured worker's return to a productive work role. The research has two specific aims: to determine the relationship between OPPs and successfully RTW & reduced work disability and to examine the validity and reliability of workers reported OPPs. This research builds upon an on-going cohort study of 250 physician-reported CTS cases in Maine funded by the Arthritis Foundation (AF) that follows workers at baseline, 2, 6, and 12 months post surgery, collecting information on worker, job, and economic factors that predict work disability and return to work. Augmentation of individual-level health data with employer-level data on OPPs creates an opportunity to examine heretofore unanswered research questions. The investigators will interview 80 key organizational informants (representing 80 different employers) to collect employer-level data on 8 OPP (people-oriented culture, active safety leadership, safety diligence, safety training, standard ergonomics practices, disability case monitoring, proactive """"""""return to work,"""""""" labor-management health and safety committees) and use the employer-level data to predict individual-level return to work, lost work days, and work disability (CTS symptoms, paid and unpaid work functioning incidents). The investigators hypothesize that OPPs will be associated with fewer lost work days, a quicker """"""""return to work,"""""""" improved work, and unpaid work role functioning and less CTS symptoms. They will also compare employer with worker OPP reports. Additional hypotheses are that worker reports of OPP will significantly co-vary with employer reports of OPP; and workers of OPP will predict total lost work days, """"""""return to work,"""""""" improved paid and unpaid work functioning and less CTS symptoms. Because of the added cost of conducting an employer interview, demonstrating worker self-reports are valid and reliable and will provide new measurement tools heretofore unavailable in occupational health research. In addition, the investigators will collect workers' compensation data from employers and OSHA reportable data to replicate research conducted among Michigan employers. A second unique feature of the proposed research is the use of new measures of successful """"""""return to work"""""""" that measure more than the fact of returning. In summary, this research will validate a critical new instrument (worker assessment of OPP), and by defining the association between OPP and health outcomes, open avenues for interventions to enhance the well-being of injured workers.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01OH003523-03
Application #
6344507
Study Section
Safety and Occupational Health Study Section (SOH)
Project Start
1998-09-30
Project End
2002-09-29
Budget Start
2000-09-30
Budget End
2002-09-29
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2000
Total Cost
$180,711
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Texas Health Science Center Houston
Department
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77225
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Amick 3rd, Benjamin C; Habeck, Rochelle V; Ossmann, Janet et al. (2004) Predictors of successful work role functioning after carpal tunnel release surgery. J Occup Environ Med 46:490-500
Dennerlein, Jack Tigh; Soumekh, F Sharonah; Fossel, Anne H et al. (2002) Longer distal motor latency predicts better outcomes of carpal tunnel release. J Occup Environ Med 44:176-83