Handbook of Occupational Health and Wellness - (Handbooks in Health, Work, and Disability) by Robert J Gatchel & Izabela Z Schultz (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book integrates clinical research in occupational health and wellness. Covers approaches to workplace health and wellness, common workplace problems such as presenteeism/abstenteeism, illnesses, job-related burnout, to prevention and intervention methods.

Book Synopsis

This book integrates the growing clinical research evidence related to the emerging transdisciplinary field of occupational health and wellness. It includes a wide range of important topics, ranging from current conceptual approaches to health and wellness in the workplace, to common problems in the workplace such as presenteeism/abstenteeism, common illnesses, job-related burnout, to prevention and intervention methods. It consists of five major parts. Part I, "Introduction and Overviews," provides an overview and critical evaluation of the emerging conceptual models that are currently driving the clinical research and practices in the field. This serves as the initial platform to help better understand the subsequent topics to be discussed. Part II, "Major Occupational Symptoms and Disorders," exposes the reader to the types of critical occupational health risks that have been well documented, as well as the financial and productivity losses associated with them. In Part III, "Evaluation of Occupational Causes and Risks to Workers' Health," a comprehensive evaluation of these risks and causes of such occupational health threats is provided. This leads to Part IV, "Prevention and Intervention Methods," which delineates methods to prevent or intervene with these potential occupational health issues. Part V, "Research, Evaluation, Diversity and Practice," concludes the book with the review of epidemiological, measurement, diversity, policy, and practice issues-with guidelineson changes that are needed to decrease the economic and health care impact of illnesses in the workplace, and recommendations for future. All chapters provide a balance among theoretical models, current best-practice guidelines, and evidence-based documentation of such models and guidelines. The contributors were carefully selected for their unique knowledge, as well as their ability to meaningfully present this information in a comprehensive manner. As such, this Handbook is of great interest and use to health care and rehabilitation professionals, management and human resource personnel, researchers and academicians alike.

From the Back Cover

From its early focus on worker safety and job satisfaction, occupational health has expanded to encompass many disciplines, in keeping with the central place of work in people's lives and the multiple issues it entails. Today the field encompasses such disparate areas as work-related stress, social and economic costs of illness and injury, and wellness concepts.

In keeping with this diversity, the Handbook of Occupational Health and Wellness analyzes and synthesizes the current research base in its theoretical, empirical, and practical dimensions. This comprehensive volume begins with an insightful overview of the field and conceptual models shaping current research and practice, then moves on to major symptoms and disorders in the workplace (e.g., pain syndromes, cancer) and risk factors for illness and injury. Chapters examine in depth epidemiology and assessment issues, gender and cultural considerations, health promotion, and illness prevention, and feature an evolving study of academic nursing program directors as they address occupational health challenges. Best-practice guidelines for preventing and intervening with workplace health and mental health problems are included as well.

The Handbook of Occupational Health and Wellness possesses a breadth and depth of knowledge of great importance to a variety of professionals, including health policymakers, health psychologists, physicians, occupational therapists, vocational rehabilitation specialists, disability case managers, insurance/managed care/compensation professionals, human resource and employment personnel, and lawyers.

Review Quotes

The purpose is to present a comprehensive review of the literature on occupational health and wellness that includes historical and contemporary foci. This is an excellent source of information in this field. The intended audience is students, educators, practitioners, and researchers in occupational health and wellness." (Yvonne M. Randall, Doody's Book Reviews, October, 2015)

"The intended audience includes 'physicians, psychologists, occupational therapists, vocational rehabilitators, labor relations and human resource professionals, employee and family assistance counselors, disability case managers, supervisors/employers, as well as researchers and academicians.' ... It is full of research findings and provides practical solutions to occupational health issues. Most importantly, there is an emphasis on wellness, which can result in increased productivity and employee satisfaction. The book should be in the libraries of organizational administrators, researchers, and clinicians ... ." (Gary B. Kaniuk, Doody's Book Reviews, April, 2013)

About the Author

Dr. Robert Gatchel is the Nancy P. & John G. Penson Endowed Professor of Clinical Health Psychology, and the Chairman of Psychology, College of Science at the University of Texas at Arlington. He also holds two other positions: clinical research director at the Eugene McDermott Center for Pain Management at the University of Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, and director of biopsychosocial research at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. He is the author 23 books, 106 book chapters, and 318 scientific research articles. His clinical research, most of it in the areas of the etiology, assessment, and treatment of pain and disability, has been continuously funded over the past 30 years from grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He also received a prestigious Research Scientist Award from NIH, and has been honored with awards from various organizations such as the American Psychological Association, the American Pain Society, the American Academy of Pain Management, the International Association for Dental Research, the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine, the North American Spine Society, to name a few.

Dr. Izabela Z. Schultz is Professor of Rehabilitation Psychology and Director of Graduate Program in Vocational Rehabilitation Counselling in the Department of Educational and Counselling and Special Education at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Schultz is doubly board certified as diplomate in clinicalpsychology, American Board of Professional Psychology and as diplomate of the American Board of Vocational Experts. She has received international awards for her innovative research on prediction of occupational disability and professional leadership awards for major contributions to medico-legal aspects of rehabilitation psychology. She has published several books and numerous seminal papers and book chapters in the field of occupational disability and rehabilitation. She is an editor of the Work and Disability Section of Springer's Psychological Injury and the Law and a founding member of this international journal. Recently, she completed, with Dr. Sally Rogers, the pioneering Work Accommodation and Retention in Mental Health (Springer). Dr. Schultz is also a co-chair of the American Psychological Association's Task Force on Assessment and Treatment of Persons with Disabilities. She has been leading development of best-evidence-informed practice guidelines in early musculoskeletal pain interventions, in work accommodation and retention in mental health, and in assessment and treatment of persons with disabilities.