This paper promotes the notion that workplace claims/injury management and rehabilitation in South Australia should be a learning process for all stakeholders. It argues that this is often ignored by the system where organisational rigidity and fixed expectations exacerbate problems and reduce the opportunity for change, new ways of learning and reciprocity. This paper asserts that what enables successful cost-effective claims/injury management would be the open operation of the pooled wisdom, experiences and practices of the stakeholders. It upholds the view that the systems involved need to be more flexible in facilitating partnerships and new learning, which would require changes in terms of openness, opportunities for learning and interacting, and establishing common focused goals. In order to study these ‘learning partnerships’, this paper attempts to analyse the dynamic configurations of ‘social power’ in the specific contexts in which the various stake-holders interact.

Hearing loss is the third most prevalent chronic disability among older adults, with older adults the prime users of aural rehabilitation services. Ex-service personnel, in particular, frequently develop hearing-related disorders, and yet research on hearing aid utilisation in this group is sparse. The present study explored predictors of hearing aid use in a randomly selected sample of 1249 New Zealand veterans. Perceived benefit, performance and ease of use of aid(s) were related to increased use. Older veterans were more likely to use their aid(s) and greater overall hearing loss also increased adherence; however, inexperienced wearers were less adherent. Satisfaction with audiological service and overall satisfaction with the performance of the aid(s) was also linked to use. Health related variables were unrelated to frequency of aid use. These results highlight the need to provide ongoing support for all veterans, but in particular novice users, who become engaged in ongoing aural rehabilitation processes.

This article will first of all consider, in some detail, the recent efforts of researchers in the United States to determine whether the Americans with Disabilities Act has improved the employment opportunities of disabled people. It will then go on to examine data on the employment situation of disabled people in the United Kingdom and how this has changed during the period since December, 1997, when the Disability Discrimination Act came into force. Tentative conclusions are then drawn, regarding the effectiveness of the legislation. The article ends with a consideration of the ways in which the monitoring and evaluation of such major shifts in policy might be improved.

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is an umbrella term for a range of conditions characterised by pain and discomfort in the soft tissues and muscle weakness. Cognitive–behavioural theory suggests that the beliefs of people in pain can influence their functioning, and beliefs scales are viewed as an important tool to assess these beliefs. Research findings support a relationship between pain beliefs and levels of pain and functioning; however, there has been little research into how belief scores are related to recovery. This study examines the relationship between scores on beliefs scales and recovery. Sixty-four people with RSI completed questionnaires to determine their pain beliefs and how their levels of pain and functioning had changed over the previous six months. Correlations provided little support for a relationship between the belief scores and recovery. This study highlights the limitations of the beliefs scales currently used in pain research and recommends the use of qualitative and longitudinal research.

Older persons, particularly women, who in later life require intervention for mental and physical disability, will become an increasing proportion of the population served by health professionals. Personal, dispositional and contextual factors all play an important role in how these women cope with physical and mental health stressors. An improved understanding of both the stressors and potential coping resources available to this population can assist therapists to design interventions for maximal efficacy.

The study utilised a quasi-experimental design and quota criteria sample of 38 adults with an acquired physical or psychological disability plus a history of long-term unemployment. At the end of the six months' rehabilitation intervention half of the participants of both disability groups were employed, which challenges the notion that adults with a psychological disability are less likely to achieve re-employment. It is important to note that similar numbers of males and females were employed, for women with a disability have historically been overrepresented in the unemployed numbers and underrepresented in rehabilitation programs. The study demonstrated that individuals with an acquired disability who reported higher self-confidence scores for gaining employment were 75% more likely to be later employed. There was a 29% improvement in General Health Questionnaire-28 scores at the end of the intervention. The program is reported and service delivery and wellbeing issues are discussed.

The phenomenon of the interdisciplinary healthcare team is relatively new, and the experience of being part of such a team presents particular issues as members knit together their practices to form a cohesive whole. This article presents the results of a study of such a team. The participants were 6 health professionals involved in a rehabilitation program in a small not-for-profit hospital in a regional area. They participated in in-depth interviews to assist an exploration of the experience of belonging to such a team. The rationale for using this team was that it was generally recognised as a professional and cohesive group of people who were particularly successful at setting and achieving team goals. Phenomenological philosophy and methodology underpinned data collection and analysis, particularly that described by Colaizzi, which requires rigorous adherence to several steps in the analysts and returning to each participant with the findings for their final validation. The data analysis revealed themes relating to relationships with each other, with the team, and with the hierarchy. The essence of these experiences emerged as a notion of shared reality within the context of the team. Thus this article concludes that the essence of a successful rehabilitation team lies in its shared reality comprising such concepts as respect, shared wisdom and effective communication.

Measures of psychosocial risk factors have been found to be effective in predicting return to work (RTW) and other occupational rehabilitation outcomes, with greater degrees of effectiveness than medical factors. Therefore, determining the psychosocial profiles of workers' compensation claimants is likely to benefit occupational rehabilitation providers in facilitating the RTW of injured workers. This study examined the psychosocial profile of 125 physically injured workers referred for occupational rehabilitation. Of these, 53 (42%) were referred for assistance to return to their preinjury employer (RTW same employer) and the remaining 72 (58%) were referred for assistance to find new employment (redeployment). Results from the total sample indicated that 76% of claimants were at risk of developing a chronic condition and over 50% reported significant symptoms of depression and stress. The RTW same employer group had a significantly lower risk of developing chronic pain than the redeployment group and the redeployment group reported more symptoms of psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress) than the RTW same employer group. There were no significant differences between the two groups on level of disability, health locus of control, or job satisfaction. The implications of these findings for intervention planning are outlined.

Acareer development approach to disability and vocational rehabilitation indicates the need to empower clients' capacity to enter the workforce through ‘career enhancement’. This paper outlines a forum for university students with a disability that was informed by the notion of career enhancement and was conducted with the purpose of linking students with one another, and with employers, employment agencies, state and Australian government agencies, and key staff of the university's careers service. Feedback from students indicated the value of the event in terms of outcome and process.

The relationship between social support, mental health, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology was investigated in a sample of 229 former New Zealand military personnel. It was hypothesised that veterans reporting greater satisfaction with their social support networks would also report better mental health and lower levels of PTSD symptomatology, and that social support would buffer the relationship between trauma and PTSD. The number of social supports was expected to be unrelated to both PTSD and mental health. Among the subsample of combat veterans (N = 166), results from multiple regression analyses revealed that satisfaction with social support was significantly related to PTSD severity but unrelated to general mental health. The moderating model of social support on the relationship between trauma and PTSD was not supported in hierarchical regression analysis in the total sample (N = 229). Methodological limitations and other explanations for these results are discussed.