Work is an activity through which individuals gain meaning and purpose in their lives. Our jobs are part of how we define ourselves which affects ones sense of self worth. If an individual’s ability to work is disrupted or lost as a result of disability resulting from disease or injury, this can have profound implications for the individual and their family.
A Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) is imperative in disability cases to determine if the individual has the capacity to return to their own work and if not, what his or her work tolerances may be. The FCE can also be utilized for evaluating baseline physical activity tolerances prior to work rehabilitation or return to work.
A Job Demands Analysis (JDA) is a comprehensive assessment to determine the physical demands of the worker’s required job tasks. This can be important to ensure that a match occurs between what the worker’s capabilities (tested in the FCE) and the specific job demands are.
Aurora Assessments conducts an assessment of the physical and environmental elements of an individual’s workplace to remove potential work barriers. This ergonomic or work site analysis provides education on posture and body mechanics, as well as recommendations to reduce or prevent work strain and improve or maintain productivity. The objective is to facilitate a strategy to reduce the injury risk and symptoms that result from daily work activities.
Training workshops or educational in-services tailored to specific work environments can be provided, to educate workers with the knowledge of how to change their environment and work habits to create a successful work setting.