Background: Work-hardening program have been developed and implemented in order to reduce duration of work disability and facilitate returning to work in worker’s compensation insurance since 2013. The efficacy of work-hardening program has rarely been proven using patient medical record in Korea. The analysis of the medical records can confirm not only the effectiveness of work-hardening program but also how the program affects injured workers specifically.
Purpose: We retrospectively collected and analyzed the Functional Capacity Evaluation(FCE) records of patients who participated in work-hardening program at the KCOMWEL Incheon Hospital between January 1 and December 31, 2018 in order to examine the effects of the program on the patient's physical, psychological, and work-related outcomes: body functions, the readiness for return-to-work, and job performance capacity.
Methods: The subjects of this study were selected from the patients who participated work-hardening program and had pre- and post-test of FCE in KCOMWEL Incheon Hospital between January 1 and December 31, 2018. Fifty seven patients with injuries on lower extremities(42.2%), upper extremities(31.5%) and back(17.5%), and complex(5.3%) were included and 8-week or 12-week program was provided. We analyzed using electronic medical record(EMR) data and analyzed changes in body functions, the readiness for return-to-work, and job performance capacity level before and after the program.
Results: The significant improvement was found in basic physical functions, such as agility, balance and flexibility, but not in endurance. The results of the job performance capacity evaluation showed that patients were most likely to use lift and bilateral carry motion. And The significant improvement was found in strength and time required for the task. The score of the dimension of “Prepared for action-Self-evaluation" in the readiness for Return-to-work (RRTW) scale significantly increased. It means that patients felt more ready to go back to work and acquried more strategies to make work manageable after returning to work.
Conclusion: The effect of work-hardening program for workers with work-related injury was proven partially in physical, psychological, and job performance capacity. The program should be improved to increase patient’s endurance in basic physical functions and consider RRTW stage-specific psychological intervention. |
