Abstract
The workforce is aging in many countries around the world, including Canada. Since advancement in age is not without risk to health, aging workers are more likely to suffer an injury leading to a process of rehabilitation before returning and attempting to stay at work. There is currently not much research describing this process regarding this vulnerable population. The aim of this study is to describe the factors influencing the process of rehabilitation, return and stay at work of aging workers who have suffered an injury. According to an interpretative descriptive research design, individual interviews were conducted with seventeen participants to date (i.e., aging workers, families, rehabilitation professionals, representatives of employers, insurers, and unions). The themes 1) personal factors, 2) health and rehabilitation services, 3) work and organization characteristics, 4) compensation, as well as 5) facilitators, obstacles, and possible improvements were documented. The data was analyzed according to a thematic analysis strategy. Recruitment continues until saturation is reached. Preliminary results suggest that generational (e.g. work-related identity), personal (e.g. accumulated experience, decreasing capacities), organizational (e.g. financial resources and openness to difference), societal (e.g. labour shortage), and health-related (e.g. access to age appropriate treatments) factors would influence the process of rehabilitation, return and stay at work of aging workers who have suffered an injury. Proposing solutions to specifically improve the services offered to aging workers will promote their healthy participation at work, thus favouring their extended working lives.
Presenters
Alexandra LecoursRegular Professor, Occupational Therapy, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada Guillaume Leonard
Jean Ruel
Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Laval University, Quebec, Canada Marie-Michèle Lord
Professeur, Ergothérapie, Universite du Québec à Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2021 Special Focus—Aging Societies: Extended Working Lives and Discrimination Against Older Workers
KEYWORDS
Aging workers, Qualitative research, Occupational injury, Rehabilitation, Return to work
