Workers' experiences with compensated sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorder: a qualitative study.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Choi, Min Kim, Hyoung-Ryoul Lee, Jinwoo Lee, Hye-Eun Byun, Junsu Won, Jong Uk
Copyright Year	2014
Abstract	ObjectivesThe most common occupational disease that is compensated by Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (IACI) in Korea is musculoskeletal disease (MSD). Although complaints about the workers’ compensation system have been raised by injured workers with MSD, studies that examine workers’ experiences with the Korean system are rare. This paper is a qualitative study designed to examine injured workers’ experiences with the workers’ compensation system in Korea. The aim of this study is to explore the drawbacks of the workers’ compensation system and to suggest ways to improve this system.MethodsAll workers from an automobile parts factory in Anseong, GyeongGi province who were compensated for MSD by IACI from January 2003 to August 2013 were invited to participate. Among these 153 workers, 142 workers completed the study. Semi-structured open-ended interviews and questionnaires were administered by occupational physicians. The responses of 131 workers were analyzed after excluding 11 workers, 7 of whom provided incomplete answers and 4 of whom were compensated by accidental injury. Based on their age, disease, department of employment, and compensation time, 16 of these 131 workers were invited to participate in an individual in-depth interview. In-depth interviews were conducted by one of 3 occupational physicians until the interview contents were saturated.ResultsInjured workers with MSD reported that the workers’ compensation system was intimidating. These workers suffered more emotional distress than physical illness due to the workers’ compensation system. Injured workers reported that they were treated inadequately and remained isolated for most of the recuperation period. The compensation period was terminated without ample guidance or a plan for an appropriate rehabilitation process.ConclusionsInterventions to alleviate the negative experiences of injured workers, including quality control of the medical care institutions and provisions for mental and psychological care for injured workers, are needed to help injured workers return to work earlier and more healthy.
Related Links	https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC4387791&blobtype=pdf
Journal	Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine [Ann Occup Environ Med]
Volume Number	26
DOI	10.1186/s40557-014-0033-0
PubMed Central reference number	PMC4387791
PubMed reference number	25852943
e-ISSN	20524374
Language	English
Publisher	BioMed Central
Publisher Date	2014-11-04
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Copyright © 2014 Choi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Subject Keyword	Musculoskeletal disease Workers’ compensation Occupational injuries Qualitative research
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health