From the Editor

Suicidal behavior is a major problem globally and accounts for 1.4% of all deaths worldwide. In 2015, it was the 17th leading cause of death (http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suicideprevent/en/). Factors such as mental illness, substance abuse, painful losses, exposure to violence, and social isolation are suggested as the causes of suicide. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls for a coordinated action to reduce suicides (http://www.who.int/news-room/detail/04-09-2014-first-who-report-on-suicide-prevention). “Effective and evidence-based interventions can be implemented at population, sub-population and individual levels to prevent suicide and suicide attempts. Suicide prevention efforts seek to:

Reduce factors that increase the risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors

Increase the factors that help strengthen, support, and protect individuals from suicide” (https://www.samhsa.gov/suicide-prevention).

Although suicide is a major problem globally, there has been relatively little empirical attention to this phenomenon (Orden, K., Witte, T., Cukrowicz, K., Braithwaiter, S., Selby, E. & Joiner, T, 2010). I introduce this From the Editor on suicide to encourage scholars and clinicals to submit their research on suicide prevention to WORK . We welcome supporting the dissemination of your work.

This issue of WORK contains 15 articles. Some topics include a cross-sectional study on job satisfaction and its related factors among dentists; wheelchair accessibility of mosques in Riyadh; policy barriers to evidence-based practices in vocational rehabilitation for people with psychiatric disabilities in New Zealand; an evaluation of the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of OccuPro’s functional capacity evaluation; and work stress, personality traits, and cortisol secretion: testing a model for job burnout. The issue concludes with the editorial Sounding Board article, Employees’ adherence to worksite physical activity programs: profiles of compliers versus non-compliers.

I hope you can join us for our 2018 Learn at WORK webinar series which is presented in cooperation with the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES). Here are the upcoming webinars:

Wednesday, 22 August 2018, 1-2 pmEST

A pilot study to precisely quantify forces applied by sonographers while scanning: A step toward reducing ergonomic injury

Dhyani Manish & Shawn Roll

Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4197487179777464065

Wednesday, 19 September 2018, 1-2 pmEST

Psychosocial risks, burnout and intention to quit following the introduction of new software at work

Mouna Knani

Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5356945280898533378

Wednesday, 24 October 2018, 1-2 pmEST

Occupational therapists’ experience of workplace fatigue: Issues and action

Cary A. Brown, Jennifer Schell & Lisa M. Pashniak

Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4363076931463859203

Wednesday, 28 November 2018, 1-2 pmEST

A scoping review on smart mobile devices and physical strain

Patricia Tegtmeier

Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/920484034664805891

If you missed any of the Learn at WORK webinars, you can find the recordings at the Learn at WORK YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOJalCXvSg9fPHaFFs48PuQ You can view the complete schedule on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WORKJournal2016/?fref=ts

As always, I welcome hearing from you.

All my best,

Karen