Supporting work participation for adults with hand and upper limb conditions: a survey of the British Association of hand therapists
Author(s)
Newington, Lisa
Ceh, Daniel
Sandford, Fiona
Parsons, Vaughan
Madan, Ira
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Musculoskeletal disorders affect over a third of the UK adult population and are a common reason for sick leave from work. The aims of this study were to describe the reported provision of work participation support for adults with hand and upper limb conditions by UK hand therapists, and to identify potential training needs in this area. METHODS: A previous survey of the Australian Hand Therapy Association was adapted for the UK. The electronic questionnaire was distributed to members of the British Association of Hand Therapists. Eligible individuals were UK-based occupational therapists or physiotherapists whose role included the assessment and/or treatment of patients ≥18 years with hand or upper limb issues. RESULTS: There were 123 participants (17% response rate). The most frequently reported work participation interventions were discussing graded return to work and sign-posting patients to speak with their doctor. The Allied Health Professionals Health and Work Report and Fit Note were not regularly used, and respondents reported low levels of confidence in issuing these documents. Barriers to providing work recommendations included a perceived lack of time, skills, knowledge and training. Facilitators included the patient discussing work as a rehabilitation goal. CONCLUSION: Development opportunities for UK hand therapists include increasing patient awareness that they can ask for work-related advice and documentation, promoting existing health and work training, developing hand therapy-specific resources, and ensuring access to electronic Fit Notes. International opportunities include the continuation of this survey with a focus on generating exemplar work participation strategies to inform further research.
Date Issued
2024-06
Date Acceptance
2024-02-18
Citation
Hand Therapy, 2024, 29 (2), pp.75-84
ISSN
1758-9983
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Start Page
75
End Page
84
Journal / Book Title
Hand Therapy
Volume
29
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2024. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38827651
Subjects
allied health professional health and work report
fit note
hand therapy
return to work
Work participation
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2024-03-17