Division of Occupational Therapy, Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
Work. 2022;72(2):453-462. doi: 10.3233/WOR-210540.
Garment workers are at risk of developing work-related upper limb disorders (WRULD) due to the highly repetitive nature of their work. Workplace-based rehabilitation (WBR) facilitates improvement in work performance by providing intervention at the worker's place of work.
This study aims to determine the documented outcomes of workplace-based occupational therapy rehabilitation of garment workers with upper limb conditions.
A multiple case study design was used through a retrospective record review. All garment workers with upper limb conditions who were treated at a student occupational therapy practice in Cape Town, South Africa, with pre- and post-intervention outcome assessment, were included in the study (n = 7). Data were extracted from occupational therapy and medical files.
70% of the cases (n = 5) improved after WBR while 30% of cases showed no improvement or deterioration. Participants received 3- 5 individual WBR sessions of approximately 30 minutes each, over a period of 4 to 6 weeks. Interventions included workstation adaptations, job rotation, psychoeducation, work task modification, assistive technology and exercise programmes. Outcome measures most commonly used were the RULA, DASH, Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire and pain intensity using the VAS.
Workplace-based occupational therapy can be effective at improving upper limb function, pain and ergonomic risk amongst garment workers with upper limb conditions.
由于工作高度重复，制衣工人面临患上与工作相关的上肢障碍（WRULD）的风险。工作场所康复（WBR）通过在工人的工作场所提供干预措施，促进工作表现的改善。
本研究旨在确定上肢疾病制衣工人职业治疗康复的工作场所为基础的记录结果。
通过回顾性病历审查，采用多案例研究设计。所有在南非开普敦的学生职业治疗实践中接受上肢疾病治疗，并进行干预前后结果评估的制衣工人（n=7）都包括在研究中。数据从职业治疗和医疗档案中提取。
70%的病例（n=5）在 WBR 后有所改善，而 30%的病例没有改善或恶化。参与者接受了 3-5 次每次约 30 分钟的个人 WBR 治疗，为期 4 至 6 周。干预措施包括工作场所适应、工作轮换、心理教育、工作任务修改、辅助技术和锻炼计划。最常用的结果测量包括 RULA、DASH、波士顿腕管问卷和使用 VAS 的疼痛强度。
工作场所为基础的职业治疗对上肢疾病制衣工人上肢功能、疼痛和人体工程学风险的改善可能是有效的。
