LOWER BACK DISABILITY IN OCCUPATIONAL SETTINGS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE FROM A HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT VIEW

Organisational Restructuring: Considerations for Workplace Rehabilitation Professionals

Organisational restructuring is a pervasive strategy employed by organisations in Australia in response to changes in market competition and/or policy directives. Such restructuring often involves staff redundancies and increased demands on the remaining employees. This paper identifies important issues for workplace rehabilitation programs in response to this phenomenon of organisational restructuring. The paper notes the impact of organisational restructuring on clients in workplace rehabilitation programs and the types of issues rehabilitation professionals are likely to face at this time. A particular focus is the aspect of managerial behaviour during the process of change and the paper reports from a range of studies on employee well-being, managerial bullying and coercion in the context of organisational restructuring. Considerations for the rehabilitation professional include the need to understand communication issues, identify those at risk, and maintain the natural supports during the change program. Suggestions are given for convenors of workplace rehabilitation programs to actively collaborate with the human resource function of the organisation and disability management is outlined as a useful example of such strategies.

Self-reported back pain among farm women in southeast Louisiana

This cross-sectional survey details the incidence and predictors of self-reported back pain among farm women from southeastern Louisiana. The sample was obtained from a preexisting data set of a cross-sectional randomized sample of farm women who participated in the Louisiana Farm Family Injury Prevention and Health Initiative research project. The Haddon Injury Model was used as the conceptual framework. Approximately one fourth of the women in the sample reported back pain in the past year. The major findings from logistic regression analysis were that women reported back pain if they were hauling animals to market and had physical health conditions. Implications for nursing practice include assessing the risk of back pain among farm women and providing client education that includes the importance of compliance with recommended health screenings for early detection and treatment of physical health conditions associated with back pain.

Self-Reported Back Pain among Farm Women in Southeast Louisiana

This cross-sectional survey details the incidence and predictors of self-reported back pain among farm women from southeastern Louisiana. The sample was obtained from a preexisting data set of a cross-sectional randomized sample of farm women who participated in the Louisiana Farm Family Injury Prevention and Health Initiative research project. The Haddon Injury Model was used as the conceptual framework. Approximately one fourth of the women in the sample reported back pain in the past year. The major findings from logistic regression analysis were that women reported back pain if they were hauling animals to market and had physical health conditions. Implications for nursing practice include assessing the risk of back pain among farm women and providing client education that includes the importance of compliance with recommended health screenings for early detection and treatment of physical health conditions associated with back pain.