Functional limitations and well-being in injured municipal workers: a longitudinal study.
Two instruments, the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and the Short Form-36 (SF-36), were used to document both the immediate and short-term effects of workplace injuries in municipal workers. Telephone interviews were conducted up to 3 months following the injury. One hundred fourteen subjects agreed to participate in the study; 90 workers completed at least one useable interview. The relationship between functional limitation and lost days was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards models. At 3 months following the onset of injury, SF-36 scores for physical function, role-physical, and bodily pain differed significantly from population norms. Using one standard deviation of change, statistically significant hazard ratios were seen in subjects with lower SF-36 physical component summary, physical function, and bodily pain scores, and higher HAQ disability and fatigue scores. Functional limitations persisted in workers after relatively minor workplace injuries despite a 91% return to work rate.
Gillen
Marion
M
Department of Community Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143-0608, USA. marion.gillen@nursing.ucsf.edu
Jewell
Sarah A
SA
Faucett
Julia A
JA
Yelin
Edward
E
D000062:Accidents, Occupational; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*