Workplace Access Research Articles

Workplace Access to Journals: Is it Sufficient to Support Quality Healthcare Practice in Medical Imaging Workers?

Introduction: Journals are important tools for disseminating new knowledge to health professionals. The purpose of this study was to investigate workplace access to journals. Medical imaging workers (MIWs) were the allied health professional group studied. Methods: A two phase sequential exploratory mixed methods design was adopted to collect data from MIWs to develop a list of professionally relevant journals and to examine accessibility of journals across the profession. In addition, the derived list of journals was further examined to determine open access and open article availability. Results: Twenty-seven percent (n=88) of survey respondents (N=362) reported that they have access to one (18%, n=58) or none (9%, n=30) of the 94 identified professionally relevant journals. Difference in access was statistically significant for work setting (university, clinical), health sector (public, private), workplace type (teaching, non-teaching hospital, clinic), and area of specialization (nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, radiography, sonography). A positive relationship was shown to exist between increased effective workplace access to journals and frequency of use. This study also identified that open access journals and articles are currently limited for Medical Imaging workers. Conclusion: Whilst journals provide access to current peer-reviewed evidence, this study established that workplace access is currently problematic for medical imaging workers. Workplaces must act to increase access to journals for Medical Imaging Workers so that these professionals can harness new knowledge and base their practice on current peer–reviewed evidence.

Mobile devices and weak ties: a study of vision impairments and workplace access in Bangalore

Purpose: To explore ways in which social and economic interactions are changed by access to mobile telephony. Method: This is a mixed-methods study of mobile phone use among 52 urban professionals with vision impairments in Bangalore, India. Results: Interviews and survey results indicated that mobile devices, specifically those with adaptive technology software, play a vital role as multi-purpose devices that enable people with disabilities to navigate economically and socially in an environment where accessibility remains a significant challenge. Conclusions: We found that mobile devices play a central role in enabling and sustaining weak ties, but also that these weak ties have important gender-specific implications. We found that women have less access to weak ties than men, which impacts women’s access to assistive technology (AT). This has potential implications for women’s sense of safety and independence, both of which are strongly related to AT access.Implications for RehabilitationAdaptive technologies increase individuals’ ability to keep in contact with casual connections or weak ties through phone calls or social media.Men tend to have stronger access to weak ties than women in India due to cultural impediments to independent access to public spaces.Weak ties are an important source of assistive technology (AT) due to the high rate of resale of used AT, typically through informal networks

Assistive Services in the Workplace of People with Hearing Impairment in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia

Assistive services in the workplace are an important aspect of the participation of people with hearing impairment in working life. This article presents the results of the GINKO study and an survey conducted by the University of Cologne on behalf of the MAIS in order to provide a comprehensive examination of the employment situation of hearing impaired people in North Rhine-Westphalia. The GINKO study examines the impact of laws on the integration of hard-of-hearing and deaf people as well as people who have become deaf as adults, focusing on communication and organizations; this project was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS). In the GINKO study, conducted in cooperation with the German Association of the Hard of Hearing and the German Association of the Deaf, a standardised questionnaire with questions about the workplace was administered to employed people with hearing impairments. The questionnaire was administered on paper and was also available online accompanied by sign language videos. The University of Cologne study in North Rhine-Westphalia examined the service situation of hard-of-hearing, deaf and deaf-blind people through face-to-face interviews and government statistics. The results of the nationwide GINKO study show that hearing-impaired people in North Rhine-Westphalia draw on assistive services in employment more often than hearing-impaired people in the rest of Germany. The study found statistically significant differences in the categories of "maintenance and development of professional knowledge and skills" and "psychosocial support in conflict situations resulting from disability". One reason for the more positive evaluations of the participants in North Rhine-Westphalia as compared to other regions in Germany could be the particular network of support services in that state. However, the overall positive results from North Rhine-Westphalia should not obscure the fact that a majority of participants in many areas of North Rhine-Westphalia reported much less positive evaluations. They reported that they did not (yet) have an accessible workplace and that assistive services are not available to all hearing impaired workers.

Effectiveness of communication strategies for deaf or hard of hearing workers in group settings

In group settings, background noise and an obstructed view of the speaker are just a few of the issues that can make workplace communication difficult for an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing. Accommodation strategies such as amplification of the speaker's voice or the use of text-based alternatives exist to address these issues. However, recent studies have shown that there are still unmet needs related to workplace communication in group settings for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Identify the most common strategies used by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to improve communication in group settings and gauge the perceived effectiveness of those strategies. An online survey was conducted with individuals who self-identified as deaf or hard of hearing. The survey presented specific communication strategies based on three functional approaches (aural/oral, text, visual). The strategies applied to both receptive and expressive communication in five different meeting types ranging in size and purpose. 161 adults (age 22-90 yrs.) with limited hearing ability completed the survey. Text-based strategies were typically the least frequently used strategies in group settings, yet they ranked high in perceived effectiveness for receptive and expressive communication. Those who used an interpreter demonstrated a strong preference for having a qualified interpreter present in the meeting rather than an interpreter acting remotely. For expressive communication, participants in general preferred to use their own voice or signing abilities and ranked those strategies as highly effective. A more accessible workplace for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing would incorporate more ubiquitous text-based strategy options. Also, qualified interpreters, when used, should be present in the meeting for maximum effectiveness.

SAT0320 Return to Work After Total Knee and Hip Arthroplasty: a Systematic Review

BackgroundThe number of people undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) and Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) surgery is rising, with a substantial proportion of patients being of working age.ObjectivesTo describe the duration...

Taking the 'hard' out of hearing on the job: Working with hearing loss

Living with a severe and permanent hearing loss has affected every corner of my life, including my working life. You can’t make out the name of the client on the phone. The boss yells out instructions as he’s walking away. There are 15 people sitting around the boardroom table and you can’t follow the conversation. PA announcements are unintelligible. The office is a mass of cubicles, poor sightlines and constant noise, creating a roar in your hearing aids. This is the often-nightmare world of working with a sensory disability. Yet, this scenario is easily transformed from nightmare to dream world thanks to the explosion in communication technology and new accessibility laws that have improved workplace access and eliminated barriers for hard of hearing people. Diagnosed at age two, my congenital hearing loss is now severe-to-profound which means that without my hearing aids I hear only slamming doors and explosions – if they’re close enough. I didn’t have a hearing aid until I was 20, courtesy of the prevailing hearing health wisdom of the time, but as my hearing loss was relatively mild as a child, my speech developed well, assisted by drama lessons in my early teens. My parents taught me to let people know that I needed them to speak up or face me. If I didn’t self-identify, mymother would do it for me, “You need to face Gael when you speak to her.” I hated that, and to this day I prefer to disclose my own needs. My family had a collective sense of humour about my hearing loss, although they foundmy “mis-hears” much funnier than I did. But this positive family attitude instilled the knowledge that my hearing loss was simply a part of me, not the sum total. Apart from my family’s support, I grew up without the resources considered mandatory for hard of hearing children today. There was no aural rehabilitation, hearing resource teachers, or role models. Accommodation meant sitting at the front of the class (the very front – for over 10 years I looked up the noses of every elementary and high school teacher). Without professional guidance, I developed my own communication strategies, often without realizing it. I became an expert speechreader, although this is an imperfect tool because less than 50% of speech movements are visible on the lips. Because I depended so much on visual cues, I’m sure that my speechreading improved immensely when I got glasses in Grade 6.

Workplace accommodations and unmet needs specific to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the workplace accommodations used by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, to report the perceived impact of the accommodations and to identify unmet needs with respect to workplace accommodations. Method: Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing participated in an online survey. Respondents identified with one of four levels of functional hearing ability and selected from descriptions of workplace accommodations. Each selection was ranked according to perceived importance, satisfaction and frequency of use. Respondents also commented on unmet needs. Results: The most common accommodations were telephone aids (55%), co-worker helps (34%) and electronic communication (31%). Importance and frequency of use ranked high among most respondents (76% and 87%, respectively). However, perceived satisfaction ranked high among only 50% of respondents. The most common unmet needs were effective communication in groups and lack of co-worker support. Conclusions: Workplace accommodations are viewed as important and frequently used by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. However, satisfaction with the accommodations is marginal at best. Unmet needs remain in the areas of communication in meetings, support of co-workers and the development of a more universally accessible workplace environment.Implications for RehabilitationIndividuals who are deaf or hard of hearing consider their workplace accommodations to be important and frequently used.Satisfaction with workplace accommodations among individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing is relatively low, indicating room for improvement in the design and application of such accommodations.Unmet needs for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing remain in the area of effective communication in meetings with multiple participants.Universal (or Inclusive) Design principles should be used to help reduce barriers in workplace environments and with respect to common-use tools in the workplace.

The business case: collaborating to help employees maintain their mental well-being.

There has been a change in the mindset of businesses in recent years. Companies are starting to realize that proactively helping their employees to maintain mental health is beneficial, both for their workers and their business. In this article, we present three different but complementary views - those of an advocate, an employer and a provider - on helping employees maintain mental, and physical, health. In the first section, Sari Sairanen outlines programs and services to manage stress and maintain mental health that have been developed by the Canadian Auto Workers' union and implemented in partnership with employers, wellness providers, service agencies and other community partners. The union focuses on raising awareness and providing education, as well as removing the stigma associated with mental illness. Deanna Matzanke, in her section, discusses the commitment of a company, Scotiabank, to create and maintain an inclusive and accessible workplace for all its employees. It has recently worked with providers to develop and implement integrated services dealing specifically with mental health illness and addiction, which aid not only its current employees but also possible future employees. Finally, Doug Smeall shares his observations as an insurer at Sun Life Financial, who has seen the rates of both short-term and long-term disabilities increase. He elaborates on the collaborative work between insurers and employers to help employees maintain their mental health, and to return to work sooner when issues do occur. Ultimately, this article argues that unions, employers and insurers can work together with partners and employees to promote and maintain employee health because, as Sairanen asserts, "preventing a problem in the first place is the best strategy."

Employment‐based reinforcement of adherence to depot naltrexone in unemployed opioid‐dependent adults: a randomized controlled trial

Naltrexone can be used to treat opioid dependence, but patients refuse to take it. Extended-release depot formulations may improve adherence, but long-term adherence rates to depot naltrexone are not known. This study determined long-term rates of adherence to depot naltrexone and whether employment-based reinforcement can improve adherence. Participants who were inducted onto oral naltrexone were assigned randomly to contingency (n = 18) or prescription (n = 17) groups. Participants were offered six depot naltrexone injections and invited to work at the therapeutic workplace on week days for 26 weeks, where they earned stipends for participating in job skills training. Contingency participants were required to accept naltrexone injections to maintain workplace access and to maintain maximum pay. Prescription participants could work independently of whether they accepted injections. The therapeutic workplace, a model employment-based intervention for drug addiction and unemployment. Opioid-dependent unemployed adults. Depot naltrexone injections accepted and opiate-negative urine samples. Contingency participants accepted significantly more naltrexone injections than prescription participants (81% versus 42%), and were more likely to accept all injections (66% versus 35%). At monthly assessments (with missing urine samples imputed as positive), the groups provided similar percentages of samples negative for opiates (74% versus 62%) and for cocaine (56% versus 54%). Opiate-positive samples were more likely when samples were also positive for cocaine. Employment-based reinforcement can maintain adherence to depot naltrexone. Future research should determine whether persistent cocaine use compromises naltrexone's effect on opiate use. Workplaces may be useful for promoting sustained adherence to depot naltrexone.

Preoperative Predictors of Returning to Work Following Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty

There is little in the literature to guide clinicians in advising patients regarding their return to work following a primary total knee arthroplasty. In this study, we aimed to identify which factors are important in estimating a patient's time to return to work following primary total knee arthroplasty, how long patients can anticipate being off from work, and the types of jobs to which patients are able to return following primary total knee arthroplasty. A prospective cohort study was performed in which patients scheduled for a primary total knee arthroplasty completed a validated questionnaire preoperatively and at four to six weeks, three months, and six months postoperatively. The questionnaire assessed the patient's occupational physical demands, ability to perform job responsibilities, physical status, and motivation to return to work as well as factors that may impact his or her recovery and other workplace characteristics. Two survival analysis models were constructed to evaluate the time to return to work either at least part-time or full-time. Acceleration factors were calculated to indicate the relative percentage of time until the patient returned to work. The median time to return to work was 8.9 weeks. Patients who reported a sense of urgency about returning to work were found to return in half the time taken by other employees (acceleration factor = 0.468; p < 0.001). Other preoperative factors associated with a faster return to work included being female (acceleration factor = 0.783), self-employment (acceleration factor = 0.792), higher mental health scores (acceleration factor = 0.891), higher physical function scores (acceleration factor = 0.809), higher Functional Comorbidity Index scores (acceleration factor = 0.914), and a handicap accessible workplace (acceleration factor = 0.736). A slower return to work was associated with having less pain preoperatively (acceleration factor = 1.132), having a more physically demanding job (acceleration factor = 1.116), and receiving Workers' Compensation (acceleration factor = 4.360). Although the physical demands of a patient's job have a moderate influence on the patient's ability to return to work following a primary total knee arthroplasty, the patient's characteristics, particularly motivation, play a more important role.

Anticipating plug-in hybrid vehicle energy impacts in California: Constructing consumer-informed recharge profiles

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) can be powered by gasoline, grid electricity, or both. To explore potential PHEV energy impacts, a three-part survey instrument collected data from new vehicle buyers in California. We combine the available information to estimate the electricity and gasoline use under three recharging scenarios. Results suggest that the use of PHEV vehicles could halve gasoline use relative to conventional vehicles. Using three scenarios to represent plausible conditions on PHEV drivers’ recharge patterns (immediate and unconstrained, universal workplace access, and off-peak only), tradeoffs are described between the magnitude and timing of PHEV electricity use. PHEV electricity use could be increased through policies supporting non-home recharge opportunities, but this increase occurs during daytime hours and could contribute to peak electricity demand. Deferring all recharging to off-peak hours could eliminate all additions to daytime electricity demand from PHEVs, although less electricity is used and less gasoline displaced.

Laptops in the Living Room: Mobile Technologies and the Divide between Work and Private Time among Interactive Agency Workers

This article examines how mobile technology use affects the division between private and work time among workers in interactive advertising agencies. These workers are frequent users of both personal and company-issued mobile technology. This article investigates the strategies workers use to restrict workplace access during their private time. Relying on the social construction of technology as a point of departure, this article investigates the impact of mobile technologies, as well as the organizational context in which they are used. Using a mixed-method approach, this article demonstrates that the use of mobile technologies does indeed render the home/work division more permeable, but it is not their use alone that determines this effect. Rather, it is the underlying social relations of workplaces that affect how individuals negotiate the use of these technologies in non-work time and space.

From Batons to Negotiated Management: The Transformation of Policing Industrial Disputes in Australia

Although historically there was no formal policy of repressing strikers, police in Australia usually responded swiftly and aggressively to employer demands to quell industrial unrest and thereby facilitated workplace access for staff and strikebreakers. Despite numerous violent confrontations between police and picketers, there was virtually no accountability of police actions. In recent decades, a much more sophisticated and professional relationship has evolved between police and unions. This article contends that contemporary procedures and negotiations, which have limited the amount of violence at picket-lines, have benefited both the union movement and the police. As illustrated by the case study of the large-scale 1998 national maritime dispute, contemporary policing tactics usually comprise a low-key, non-confrontational and peace-keeping approach. However, modern police authorities, who maintain the latent capacity to use coercion including riot technology, remain resolute and determined to control major industrial strife, but preferably by negotiation and persuasion. Language: en

Institutional, Economic, or Solidaristic? Assessing Explanations for Unionization Across Affluent Democracies

This study assesses three explanations for cross-national differences in unionization: Western’s (1997) institutional model, economic explanations based on the business cycle or globalization, and Hechter’s (2004) solidaristic theory. This study features a multilevel analysis of employed workers with the late 1990s World Values surveys of 18 affluent democracies. The analyses generally support the institutional model. Left parties and ghent systems remain influential, though ghent is less robust. Neo-corporatism and wage coordination are insignificant whereas workplace access is the more salient indicator of centralization. Beyond Western’s model, right cabinet significantly weakens unionization. Refuting economic explanations, inflation, unemployment, and economic growth, as well as international trade and investment, do not influence unionization. Consistent with Hechter’s claims, the welfare state reduces unionization but, contradicting his claims, immigration does not undermine unions. Ultimately, this study supports a revised institutional model that supplements Western’s model with right cabinet and the welfare state.

Awareness of universal design among facility managers in Japan and the United States

This comparative study is based on two surveys conducted in Japan and the United States to understand how facility managers recognize and practice universal design in their workplaces, and to identify what factors are likely to facilitate or obstruct their practice. The results showed that, although many facility managers recognized the advantages of applying universal design, most organizations currently provided accessible workplaces merely within the scope of legal requirements, while few organizations achieved consistency between corporate mission and strategies, knowledge of facility managers, and the degree of workplace accessibility practices. US organizations and Japanese organizations showed different perceptions of the issue in terms of advantages of universal design based on differences in management style. The findings also suggest that an understanding of the issues by top management is key to promoting universal design practice.

Use and awareness of Electronic Information Services by students at Glasgow Caledonian University

This paper is the latest in a series of studies of EIS (electronic information services) usage and information literacy among staff and students at Glasgow Caledonian University and builds on previous work elsewhere. It reports on two surveys conducted in March 2002 and October 2002-February 2003 respectively and thus offers a longitudinal perspective. The questionnaires were administered both on paper and electronically and the results compared but no differences in data collected could be detected. The results showed a growth in usage in the relatively short period between the two surveys and subject area studied proved to be the main determinant of EIS usage, followed by integration into the programme. Mode of attendance is an issue and off-Campus usage is growing, with an increasing emphasis on workplace access. The catalogue was found to be no longer ‘the key to the library’ and gateways and links were little used. A relationship between student progression and retention and EIS usage was identified.

Institutional Explanations of Union Strength: An Assessment

In this article, the author shows how earlier institutional explanations of union strength are theoretically and methodologically flawed. At odds with earlier research, the author argues that two institutional properties—the degree of centralization in the bargaining system and the workplace access of the union movement— will interactively influence the unionization process. The results of empirical tests speak in favor of the stated hypothesis. The combination of centralized bargaining and workplace access does not only positively influence the aggregate density levels but also cushions the effects of industrial, occupational, and demographic factors on the probability of being a union member.

A commercial perspective on universal access and assistive technology: towards implementation

This paper presents one company's perspective on the implementation and provision of universal access (UA) and assistive technology in an industrial setting. The paper addresses the need to provide accessible work-places and also accessible customer services, from legal, commercial and ethical standpoints. The company in question, Royal Mail, is one of the UK's largest employers and service providers and so has been able to gather employee and customer data often unavailable to smaller organisations.

Employer Perspectives on Hiring and Accommodating Youth in Transition

Work-based experiences are critical educational adjuncts for the career development of youth with disabilities. Such experiences are dependent on willing and available employers. This article examines effective workplace supports and accommodations and relates them to employer perspectives of bringing youth with disabilities into the workplace. Employment supports, including assistive technology, that may be required by youth with disabilities are also examined in relation to typical internal company human resource management practices. A review of the literature and two case study illustrations strongly suggest that employer attitudes toward disability are less significant when deciding to bring youth into the workplace than are other factors, notably the identification of workplace supports, accommodations, and interventions that also contribute to improvement of companies' operational and organizational processes. Combining special education and disability employment interventions with typical company human resource interventions can facilitate the achievement of a more accessible workplace for youth with disabilities. Implications for education and transition programs are discussed.

The Internet and access to evidence: how are nurses positioned?

Published literature that describes the use of the Internet by nurses is scant, but it does reveal that there has been a delay in the acceptance of the Internet as a workplace tool by the medical community and, in particular by nurses. The purpose of this article is to report on a study of how often and from what location nurses accessed the Internet, as well as the types of information they were seeking. In addition, our goal was to compare nurses' Internet use with that of physicians and the public at large, and to highlight structural and institutional challenges to nurses' use. Surveys (1996 and 1998) of Alberta Registered Nurses were used to examine their use of technology at work and at home. Additional data sources were used to compare nurses to physicians and to the general public. While nurses' Internet and e-mail use at home increased over the 2-year period and was comparable with other groups, Internet use at work was low compared with other groups despite adequate workplace access. Nurses are more likely to value interpersonal contact, and prefer to use personal experience and communication with colleagues and patients rather than on-line and traditional sources of practice knowledge. In order for an information source to be seen as valuable in the clinical setting, contextually relevant information needs to be accessed quickly and efficiently. Energies should be focused on constructing information systems that address the particular needs of nurses.