Risk assessment for prolonged sickness absence due to musculoskeletal disorders: protocol for a prospective cohort study

Abstract

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are the leading cause of sickness absence and disability pension in Norway. There is strong evidence that long-term sickness absence due to musculoskeletal disorders are associated with a reduced probability of return to work (RTW). A way to meet the economic and resourcedemanding challenges related to individual follow-up of this group is to identify and treat those individuals with a high risk of prolonged sickness. The overall purposes of this project are 1) to determine the most accurate screening tool to identify people at a high risk of prolonged sickness absence due to an musculoskeletal disorder, and 2) to investigate severity of musculoskeletal health, health-related quality-of-life, health care utilization, and costs across different risk profiles in people on sick leave due to a musculoskeletal disorder. Methods: People older than 18 years of age on sick leave for at least 4 weeks due to a musculoskeletal disorder will be invited to participate in this prospective observational cohort study conducted within the Norwegian Welfare and Labor Administration (NAV) system in collaboration with OsloMet-Oslo Metropolitan University. The main outcome is sickness absence, obtained from the NAV registry. Data on sickness absence will be retrieved prospectively in the period from study inclusion to 12 months follow-up, and retrospectively 12 months before inclusion in the study. Possible risk factors will be self-reported by the participants at inclusion while health care utilization will be retrieved from registry data. To conduct analyses including 15 to 20 predictor variables, we aim at including 500-600 people on sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders. Discussion: This study may provide tools that can be used to identify individuals with high risk of prolonged sickness absence and may thus be important from both a socioeconomic and individual perspective. Further, the study may give valuable insight into identification of sickness absence profiles and the associations between these profiles and musculoskeletal health status, health-related quality of life and costs. Trial registration: Retrospectively registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04196634, 27.11.2019).

Validity and reliability of the Norwegian version of the Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire in people on sick leave

“…The study was a prospective cohort study of people on sick leave due to MSK disorders [ 11 ]. The participants were recruited through the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administrations (NAV) webpages during November 2018–January 2019.…”

“…In addition to the Norwegian version of the MSK-HQ (including item 15 on physical activity), the baseline questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic data, medical history, MSK diagnosis (ICPC-2), and different PROMs, and is presented in the published protocol [ 11 ]. Several reference scales and single items were used to evaluate construct validity: first, the EuroQol 5 Dimensions (EQ-5D-5L), which covers five dimensions within health-related quality of life (HRQOL): mobility, self-care, daily activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression [ 12 ].…”

Comparison of self-reported and public registered absenteeism among people on long-term sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders: criterion validity of the iMTA Productivity Cost Questionnaire

“…The present study was part of a prospective observational cohort study among people on sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders (the MI-NAV project), conducted within the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) [ 12 ]. Baseline data from the cohort study was compared with public registry data with respect to occurrence and duration of long-term absenteeism.…”

Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of the effectiveness of adding motivational interviewing or stratified vocational advice intervention to usual case management on return to work for people with musculoskeletal disorders. The MI-NAV study

“…WP1 includes a systematic mapping review [8] and a survey and focus group interview of NAV caseworkers investigating usual NAV case management for individuals on sick leave due to MSK disorders, and experiences of the RTW process. In WP2, we will explore the most accurate screening tool to identify people at a high risk of prolonged sickness absence due to MSK disorder, and investigate MSK health, health-related quality-of-life, health care consumption, and costs across different risk profiles in individuals on sick leave due to MSK disorders [19]. The first phase of WP3 will be an internal pilot trial including recruitment of the first 100 study participants.…”

“…In the current RCT, participants will be allocated to the high-risk subgroup if they have ≥9 points (out of 12) on the Keele STarT MSK tool and ≥ 60 points (out of 100) on the ÖMPSQ-SF at baseline. These cut offs are based on preliminary data from WP2 of this project [19].…”