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Qualitative Examination of the Experience of Perceived Injustice Following Disabling Occupational Injury

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Abstract

Purpose

The primary objective of this study was to explore individuals’ perspectives on the factors, situations or events that contributed to their perceptions of injustice following occupational injury.

Materials and Methods

The study sample consisted of 30 participants (18 women, 12 men) who had submitted a time-loss claim for a work-related musculoskeletal injury. Participants with elevated scores on a measure of perceived injustice were interviewed about the factors that contributed to their sense of injustice. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify the broad classes of situations or events that participants experienced as unjust in the weeks following occupational injury.

Results

Three dominant themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Invalidation, (2) Undeserved suffering and (3) Blame. Inductively derived subthemes reflected specific dimensions of post-injury experiences that contributed to participants’ sense of injustice.

Conclusions

Given that suffering and invalidating communication are potentially modifiable factors, there are grounds for optimism that intervention approaches can be developed to prevent or reduce perceptions of injustice in the aftermath of debilitating injury. The development of intervention approaches that are effective in preventing or reducing perceptions of injustice holds promise of contributing to more positive recovery outcomes in individuals who have sustained debilitating work injuries.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Monique Gagnon and Frederic Chappe for their assistance in data collection and data base management. The authors also thank Drs. Nathalie Gauthier, Pascal Thibault and Keiko Yamada for their consultations on the study methodology.

Funding

This research was supported by funds from the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST) and the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Heather Adams & Judy E. MacDonald

  2. Department of Psychology, Université de Sherbrooke, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Ana Nightingale Castillo

  3. Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Antonina Pavilanis

  4. Université Laval, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Manon Truchon

  5. Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Marie Achille

  6. Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, ON, Canada

    Pierre Côté

  7. Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Ave, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada

    Michael J. L. Sullivan

Authors
  1. Heather Adams
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  2. Judy E. MacDonald
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  3. Ana Nightingale Castillo
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  4. Antonina Pavilanis
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  5. Manon Truchon
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  6. Marie Achille
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  7. Pierre Côté
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  8. Michael J. L. Sullivan
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Contributions

Conceptualization: All authors; Methodology: HA, JEM, MA, PC, MS; Formal analysis and investigation: HA, JEM, AP, MT, MS; Writing - original draft preparation: HA, JEM, MS; Writing - review and editing: All authors; Funding acquisition: MS; Resources: MS; Supervision: MS.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael J. L. Sullivan.

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Competing Interests

The authors have no financial interest in the results of this research.

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This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of McGill University.

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Adams, H., MacDonald, J.E., Castillo, A.N. et al. Qualitative Examination of the Experience of Perceived Injustice Following Disabling Occupational Injury. J Occup Rehabil (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-023-10154-y

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