Work Occupations and Outcomes Internationally and Across the Lifespan

This special issue was made possible by a visit from Karen Jacobs (Editor of Work) to the Cleveland State University Campus in September 2002. Karen asked us what we were doing in the area of work, and she was excited about the variety of interests among the Cleveland State Faculty in the Health Sciences Department. She asked us to share our work using this forum. In deciding what to share, four areas of expertise came to mind. Cleveland State’s Occupational Therapy Program has been active for over 10 years in International Programs in Belize and Guatemala. Bette Bonder’s article on work among Maya women in Guatemala and Susan Bazyk’s article looking at work among children and youth both address work outside the United States. It is important to understand how other cultures view work to improve practice in the United States and to develop new areas of practice internationally [3]. A second area of expertise is program evaluation. The literature suggests the need for accountability in return to work and other rehabilitation programs [1,2,4]. Two traditional work hardening programs were evaluated in articles by Patrick Baker and Glenn Goodman. Brenda Greene’s and Glenn Goodman’s articles look at the effectiveness of ergonomics programs. Sharon Flinn studied a successful return to work program for veterans with mental illness. A third area of expertise is occupation across the lifespan. Susan Bazyk and Patricia Bambrick address work issues from a developmental perspective, examining work among children and youth as well as the meaning of work among older adults. Mary Milidonis examined work status among individuals with arthritis using epidemiological methods. The fourth area of expertise covered in this issue comes from the biomechanics frame of reference. This article, written by Jamie Landis, looks at the effect of various forms of therapeutic exercise to individual muscle activity in lateral epicondylitis. Although most of the articles came from research generated at Cleveland State University, two articles were supplied by individuals not directly affiliated with the University. Brenda L. Greene, PT, PhD, OCS, from Emory University shared her work with computer ergonomics programs and collaborated with Dr. Milidonis on the epidemiological study of work and arthritis. Sharon Flinn from Functional Visions looked at return to work among veterans with mental illness living in a rural group home setting. It is very gratifying to showcase work of our students. The following Cleveland State University Occupational Therapy Program students collaborated with faculty to produce research found in this issue: Margaret Browning, Sims Campbell, Huison Hudak, Sheila McGuire, Crystal Shorter, Michelle Sieminski, and Tamika Wilson. Inna Keselman, MPT, OTR/L and Catherine Murphy, MPT, OTR/L collaborated with Dr. Landis as part of their Master of Physical Therapy education. Other authors who are working professionally elsewhere, but who completed these articles while working on their advanced Masters degrees at Cleveland State, include Patrick Baker, MS, OTR/L, Patricia Bambrick, MS, RN, Bridget Reilly, OTR/L, and Janice Toyota, OTR/L. Some of the most pertinent findings in this issue are listed below: