Return to work among workers recovering from severe COVID-19 in Slovenia: a focus group study.

PURPOSE: For working age adults, return to work (RTW) after severe COVID-19 can be an essential component of rehabilitation. We explored the expectations and experiences related to RTW in a group of workers recovering from severe COVID-19 in Slovenia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four focus groups were conducted between May 2021 and August 2021. Fifteen men and three women, aged between 39 and 65 years, participated. We analysed data using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Four main themes were developed in the analysis, pertaining to (1) work identity, (2) challenges to work re-entry, (3) personal strengths and support systems, and (4) possible adaptations at work. The disruption of work triggered sentiments about its role in identity. Workers' personal agency and self-advocacy helped participants cope with various barriers that were beyond their control, such as physical limitations and lack of systematic routines to address RTW. Workers recovering from severe COVID-19 were at risk of developing negative expectations regarding their work re-entry. CONCLUSIONS: RTW after severe COVID-19 involves different personal, organizational and systemic dimensions that need to be considered and carefully aligned. Due to the individuality of the process, the worker should be involved as a key partner in the RTW process.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONLack of clinical pathways can negatively impact return to work (RTW) after severe COVID-19.RTW processes should start early but timely and include individual follow up.Patients expect the interdisciplinary team of experts to work together and involve them in all phases of decision-making regarding their rehabilitation and RTW process.Positive expectations regarding work re-entry are essential for the RTW process.

Occupational priorities and needs of blind and partially sighted people entering the labor market in Slovenia.

BACKGROUND: People with vision impairment are a growing group of clients for occupational therapists, particularly those working in vocational rehabilitation. OBJECTIVE: To examine the occupational priorities and performance issues of blind and partially sighted people entering vocational rehabilitation in Slovenia. Possible differences between priorities and issues among diagnostic groups and in relation to the rehabilitation outcome were explored. METHODS: Records of 42 clients referred to vocational rehabilitation at the University Rehabilitation Institute in Ljubljana between 2007 and 2019 were reviewed. Information on self-perceived occupational priorities and issues was obtained from the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM). RESULTS: Household and other unpaid work was identified the most frequently (20%) as a priority, followed by job-seeking (19%) and community mobility (15%). Job-seeking was the top performance issue (43%), followed by community mobility (21%) and household management (19%). On the 1-10 scale, the average occupational performance and satisfaction scores were 6.7 and 6.5, respectively; no statistically significant differences in relation to the diagnosis or the rehabilitation outcome were observed. CONCLUSION: The results highlight the client-identified occupational priorities and issues beside job-seeking that need to be considered in planning occupational therapy and supporting the persons with visual impairments entering the labor market.

Goal Setting Among Experienced and Novice Occupational Therapists in a Rehabilitation Center.

BACKGROUND.: Collaborative goal setting is an important part of client-centered occupational therapy. However, not all therapists have comparable skills when it comes to setting goals. PURPOSE.: The aim of our study was to explore the experiences of novice and expert occupational therapists who use the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure in the process of goal setting. METHOD.: This study followed a focused ethnography approach. Four beginners and four experienced occupational therapists were interviewed about their experiences with goal setting. We also observed them during a goal setting session. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. FINDINGS.: The four main themes that emerged from the analysis showed both similarities and differences between novice and experienced therapists, especially in the areas of communication, guidance, and flexibility, as well as dilemmas they were facing. IMPLICATIONS.: Our findings challenge the client-centeredness of the participants and the relevance of work experience when it comes to collaborative goal setting.

Perceptions of possibilities of returning to work with chronic musculoskeletal disorders.

Chronic musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are the most common cause of work disability in the western world. Return to work (RTW) with chronic MSD is a complex process dependent on individual and social factors, including individual perceptions of the process. No studies have addressed RTW in the Slovenian context of high job protection legislation. This study was aimed at understanding how Slovenian employees with MSD made sense of their experiences with work and life before and after the occurrence of MSD, giving meaning to their perceptions of the possibility to return to work. Data were collected through narrative interviews with six Slovenian employees with chronic MSD and analyzed with a paradigmatic approach. The participants described their experiences in a narrative of a transition from a life of stability and fulfillment to a life of suspense about their future. The work environment as well as health and disability systems were experienced as the most decisive in the development of those perceptions. The participants linked those experiences, more than the MSD itself, to their feelings of hope, doubt and fear about their possibilities of returning to work. The study shows how narratives about life and work can give meaning to individual perceptions of RTW process in a specific social and work context.

The clinical utility of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure in vocational rehabilitation: A qualitative study among occupational therapists in Slovenia.

BACKGROUND: Few studies exist on the clinical utility of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) in vocational rehabilitation. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore how Slovenian occupational therapists working in vocational rehabilitation, perceived the usefulness of the COPM in their everyday practice. METHODS: A qualitative study using two focus group discussions was conducted. The meaning condensation method was applied to analyze the data. RESULTS: Analysis revealed the following key themes: (1) the COPM facilitates collaboration with the client; (2) the COPM is a source of evidence and empowerment for occupational therapists; (3) the challenges that arise when using the COPM; (4) the use of COPM requires training; and (5) using the COPM results and understanding their meaning. CONCLUSIONS: The study reveals new insights into using the COPM results in occupational therapy, especially into the contextual factors that influence the meaning and importance of work for clients in vocational rehabilitation.