Affiliations: University of British Columbia School of Occupational
and Environmental Hygiene, Vancouver, Canada | University of British Columbia Department of
Occupational Therapy, Vancouver, Canada | Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, Division of
Rheumatology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Judy Village, Adjunct Professor, UBC
School of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2220 Badger Road, North
Vancouver, B.C., V7G 1T1 Canada. Tel.: +1 604 929 7243; E-mail:
village@interchange.ubc.ca
Abstract: Inflammatory arthritis (IA) is a leading cause of work disability,
especially for those with jobs involving repetitive, hand-intensive or manual
work. Ergonomic interventions may mediate against job loss. Our objective was
to identify desirable features of an ergonomic tool for use in providing job
accommodation for people with IA, and to evaluate a selection of ergonomic and
rehabilitation tools against these features. Eight desirable features were
compared across 16 assessment tools. None of the tools met all the
pre-determined features. Ergonomic assessment tools should incorporate
objective assessment of risk factors together with subjective perceptions of
symptom aggravation, and identify risk factors that may not currently be
causing problems, but may increase risk of aggravation or injury in the future.
To accommodate the needs of people with IA, the tool should allow for
evaluation of risks and generation of solutions without a worksite visit in
situations where the client does not want to disclose their illness. Finally,
an assessment tool needs to be applicable to a wide range of worksites, easy to
use, valid, and reliable. Against these criteria, it appears that there is a
lack of appropriate ergonomic assessment tools for use in people with IA.
