Past Liberty Mutual Work Disability Research Award Winners

Dr. Gross acting chairman and associate professor of the faculty of rehabilitative medicine at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, won the 2014 Liberty Mutual Work Disability Research Award.  He presented his research at the biannual scientific meeting of the WDPI Scientific Committee.

 

The award-winning investigation looked at functional capacity evaluations commonly used to identify work abilities and inform return-to-work decisions.  The research examined whether performance-based functional capacity evaluation enhances return-to-work (RTW) assessment of workers’ compensation claimants, beyond information gained from self-report measures, and leads to better functional and RTW outcomes.  The investigators hypothesized that claimants undergoing performance testing as part of a RTW assessment would return to work earlier, and at higher functional work levels, due to the lower estimations of work capacity obtained with self-report that were observed in previous studies.  However, this investigation revealed that performance-based functional capacity evaluation does not appear to enhance RTW outcomes beyond information gained from semi-structured functional interviewing. Thus, use of functional interviewing in place of functional capacity testing in some instances has the potential to improve assessment efficiency without compromising functional or RTW outcomes.

​The first Liberty Mutual Work Disability Research Award was presented Dr. Lindbohm, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, and Dr. Noordegraaf, a physician at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at VU Medical Center in Amsterdam.

 

Dr. Lindbohm and her colleagues presented an analysis of employment outcomes after cancer diagnosis and compared outcomes across four countries—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway—while controlling for multiple potential illness-related confounders. These researchers were the first investigators to demonstrate conclusively that differences between national policies determining disability payment eligibility were the most important determinants of differences in return-to-work outcomes in cancer survivors.

 

Dr. Noordegraaf  and colleagues at the VU Medical Center and the EMGO Institute in Amsterdam implemented a novel innovation to promote early return to work in women undergoing gynecological surgery. They developed and implemented an interactive e-health program that had a significant impact on post-surgical work disability outcomes. The program included personalized information regarding activity resumption, pre- and post-operative instructions, additional counseling support as needed, and information for doctors and families.