Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations.
Introduce OTs to the Work Experience Survey for Rheumatic Condition, and discuss the major reported barriers people with arthritis and rheumatological conditions
Primary Author and Speaker: Rawan Alheresh
Contributing Authors: Julie Keysor
PURPOSE: The Work Experience Survey for Rheumatic Conditions (WES-RC), a structured interview tool used to identify work and home barriers, when used with a structured educational and counseling approach, decreases premature unemployment (work disability) among working adults with rheumatic conditions at risk of job loss. The objective of this study is to describe the barriers reported for the work sections of the WES-RC from participants in a recent randomized controlled trial.
DESIGN: This is a descriptive study using data extracted from participants in the intervention arm of the largest non-pharmacological intervention study to date showing a positive effect of an educational counseling intervention delivered by occupational and physical therapists to decrease work disability among people with arthritis and rheumatological conditions. Employed individuals with self-reported arthritis or rheumatological conditions, who were working at least part-time (more than 15 hours a week), lived or worked in Massachusetts, and who were randomized to the intervention arm were included in this study.
METHOD: Descriptive statistics of the barriers in each section of the WES-RC items addressing work-related factors were computed using frequency statistics. The WES-RC is divided into 8 sections including demography, at work participation, and areas supporting work participation. In this study, we will focus on three sections related to ‘at work participation’ including getting ready for work, workplace access, and completing job activities (physical job demands, mental job demands, time/energy and emotional job demands).
RESULTS: The WES-RC was completed by 143 participants in the intervention arm. The mean age for this study sample was 50.3 (range 23-66). 73% were female, 66% white, 68% not currently married and 59% had a college degree or higher. Osteoarthritis was the most commonly reported condition (43%). Doing stairs at home and lifting/carrying things and were the most reported barriers for getting ready to work, reported 63 times (44%), and 62 times (43%), respectively. Stairs and walking to work were the most reported barriers for workplace access, reported 57 (40%), and 40 times (28%), respectively. For the completing job activities section, the top reported barriers were: sitting for prolonged periods of time (physical job demands, reported 79 (55%) times), remembering (mental job demands, reported 42 times (30%)), and work extra/overtime hours (time/energy/emotional job demands, reported 33 times).
CONCLUSION: The WES-RC identifies many problematic areas that fall within the expertise of occupational therapy. With a recent randomized trial supporting the use of the tool as part of a structured interview and educational counseling session, the tool could be useful to clinicians during practice to identify areas of need for patients.
References
Keysor, J. J., AlHeresh, R., Vaughan, M., LaValley, M. P., & Allaire, S. (2016). The Work-It Study for people with arthritis: Study protocol and baseline sample characteristics. Work (Reading, Mass.), 54(2), 473–480. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-162331
Keysor, J. J., LaValley, M. P., Brown, C., Felson, D. T., AlHeresh, R. A., Vaughan, M. W., Yood, R., Reed, J. I., & Allaire, S. J. (2018). Efficacy of a Work Disability Prevention Program for People with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Single-Blind Parallel-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial. Arthritis care & research, 70(7), 1022–1029. https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.23423
