Victims twice over: perceptions and experiences of injured workers

Abstract

The authors discuss the qualitative component of a participatory research project conducted in Toronto, Ontario, between 1999 and 2001. Injured workers, who were trained as peer researchers, conducted one-time, semistructured interviews with other injured workers (N = 17) and helped with inductive coding and analyzing the interview transcripts. The qualitative research group consisted of seven peer researchers, four academic researchers, and a community legal worker. The group recruited interviewees by advertising on bulletin boards and in newsletters and newspapers, and selected a diverse group of interviewees who had encountered problems with the return-to-work process. Interviewees believed that the process victimizes them and renders them powerless and dependent on others. Furthermore, they considered that health professionals and bureaucrats impede their rehabilitation. The authors suggest that injured workers should be included in the decision-making process of rehabilitation and rebuilding their lives.