The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) will host a 30-minute webinar on Thursday, January 15, 2025, at 2:00 PM ET, presenting findings from its latest study, Psychosocial Factors and Functional Outcomes Following Physical Therapy.
“Psychosocial factors play a critical role in recovery, yet we still lack a clear understanding of their prevalence, impact, and how best to address them, especially in workers’ compensation. Our study helps close that gap by examining injured workers who received knee and shoulder physical therapy,” said Sebastian Negrusa, WCRI’s vice president of research.
The study explores how psychosocial risk factors such as poor recovery expectations, fear avoidance, poor coping, catastrophizing, and perceived injustice affect recovery in injured workers undergoing physical therapy. These “yellow flags” are strong predictors of adverse outcomes.
Key questions include the following:
- How common are these risk factors among workers’ compensation cases?
- Do these risk factors vary by payor type (e.g., workers’ compensation vs. private insurance) or patient group?
- How do recovery outcomes differ for patients with and without these factors?
The analysis draws on data from Focus on Therapeutic Outcomes (FOTO), covering about 130,000 knee and shoulder therapy episodes from 2021 to 2024, including more than 13,000 workers’ compensation cases.
Webinars are $50 for non-members and FREE for WCRI members, members of the press, and legislators, as well as their staff. Registration is limited to 500 people, and all registrants will receive a copy of the webinar slides and a recording of the session. Click here to register now.
