Qualitative Examination of the Experience of Perceived Injustice Following Disabling Occupational Injury.

PURPOSE: The primary objective of this study was to explore individuals' perspectives on the factors, situations or events that contributed to their perceptions of injustice following occupational injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study sample consisted of 30 participants (18 women, 12 men) who had submitted a time-loss claim for a work-related musculoskeletal injury. Participants with elevated scores on a measure of perceived injustice were interviewed about the factors that contributed to their sense of injustice. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify the broad classes of situations or events that participants experienced as unjust in the weeks following occupational injury. RESULTS: Three dominant themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Invalidation, (2) Undeserved suffering and (3) Blame. Inductively derived subthemes reflected specific dimensions of post-injury experiences that contributed to participants' sense of injustice. CONCLUSIONS: Given that suffering and invalidating communication are potentially modifiable factors, there are grounds for optimism that intervention approaches can be developed to prevent or reduce perceptions of injustice in the aftermath of debilitating injury. The development of intervention approaches that are effective in preventing or reducing perceptions of injustice holds promise of contributing to more positive recovery outcomes in individuals who have sustained debilitating work injuries.

Anti-oppressive practices with chronic pain sufferers.

Chronic pain and (dis)Ability leaves one struggling for normalcy, trying to make sense out of the fundamental operations of one's body, the meaning of suffering, and the social construction of wellness (Jackson, 2002; MacDonald, 2000; Oliver, 1996; Thomas, 1999; Wendell, 1996). Social work and other helping professions need to find ways to learn from sufferers, to listen to their stories, deriving insight from their knowledge, in order to more effectively attend to their health care needs. Findings from a doctoral dissertation using a narrative "testimonial" methodology, framed within a postmodern anti-oppressive ideology, will be presented. This research listened to the stories of women in, or retired from, the helping professions, who are sufferers of chronic pain, specifically attending to their experiences of living with chronic pain, dealing with the medical system, and the relationship of their pain and (dis)Ability with their helping roles. Six sufferers participated-two physicians, two nurses, and two social workers-providing a cross-disciplinary lens to both their personal and work experiences. The guiding research question was, "How can the stories of women in the helping professions, who are sufferers of chronic pain and (dis)Ability, inform an anti-oppressive approach to social work practice in working with sufferers?" A close read is provided into the sufferers' professional storying, including their insights, reflections, and critiques of health services. An anti-oppressive model of social work is highlighted, extrapolated from participants' storied practices and collaborative visions for best practices in working with chronic pain sufferers.