Systematic Review of the Impact on Return to Work of Return-to-Work Coordinators

Dol, Megan; Varatharajan, Sharanya; Neiterman, Elena; McKnight, Ekaterina; Crouch, Meghan; McDonald, Erica; Malachowski, Cindy; Dali, Nor Soleha Mohd; Giau, Emily; MacEachen, Ellen

doi:10.1007/s10926-021-09975-6

Cited by 33 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…This seems to be appreciated by the patients and may help to provide a clear and structured plan for RTW. The results are in line with previous studies [ 14 , 31 ], which found that developing RTW plans was an important component of RTWCs’ work, together with face-to-face contact, ergonomic worksite evaluation, communication/coordination between stakeholders, and identifying barriers to and facilitators of RTW. This study assessed the patient’s perspective of RTWC involvement in these plans.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

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Coordination and Perceived Support for Return to Work: A Cross-Sectional Study among Patients in Swedish Healthcare

Berglund

Friberg

Engblom

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Background: Receiving support from a return-to-work (RTW) coordinator (RTWC) may be beneficial for people on long-term sick leave. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the number of contacts with an RTWC and their involvement in designing rehabilitation plans for the patients were associated with perceiving support for RTW, emotional response to the RTWC, and healthcare utilization. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 274 patients who had recently been in contact with an RTWC in Swedish primary or psychiatric care answered questions regarding their interaction with an RTWC, perceived support for RTW, and emotional response to the RTWC. Results: Having more contact with an RTWC was associated with perceiving more support in the RTW process (adjusted OR 4.14, 95% CI 1.49–11.47). RTWC involvement in designing a rehabilitation plan for the patient was associated with perceiving more support in the RTW process from an RTWC and having a more positive emotional response to the RTWC. Conclusions: From the patient’s perspective, this study indicates that the involvement of an RTWC and receiving a rehabilitation plan that an RTWC has helped to design might be perceived as important in the RTW process.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…The RTWC also collaborates with stakeholders outside healthcare, such as employers, the Social Insurance Agency, and the social services. The RTWC may also be involved in creating a plan for the RTW process [ 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coordination and Perceived Support for Return to Work: A Cross-Sectional Study among Patients in Swedish Healthcare

Berglund

Friberg

Engblom

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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“…A recent systematic review [3] of the impact of RTW coordinators also found that there are few studies focusing on how patients experience RTW coordination, and how these aspects affect the RTW process. Although our study does not speak to outcomes, the findings do suggest, from a patient perspective, the importance of professional competence when encountering a RECO during a RTW process.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are not restricted to working with people with work-related injuries, as may be the case in other countries; rather, RECOs work with all types of medical diagnoses resulting in work disability and SA, regardless of what causes any individual diagnosis. Previous reviews on the effects of having support with coordinating the RTW process have shown mixed results: both moderate [3][4][5] and a lack of effects [6,7] on different parts of the RTW process have been reported. The effects of RE-COs in primary healthcare in Sweden have also been evaluated, with studies showing positive outcomes, for example, in decreased SA days and a faster RTW process [2,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patients’ with Multimorbidity and Psychosocial Difficulties and Their Views on Important Professional Competence for Rehabilitation Coordinators in the Return-to-Work Process

Azad

Svärd

2021

IJERPH

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Coordinators may play a key role during the return-to-work (RTW) process for people on sickness absence. There are still few studies on the newly implemented rehabilitation coordinators (RECO) within Swedish healthcare, and none focus on their competence. The aim of this study was to explore how persons with multimorbidity and psychosocial difficulties describe the professional competence of the RECO they encountered during their RTW process. The study takes a relational and practical approach in defining professional competence, including both what professionals do and what they possess. Interviews with 12 people with multimorbidity and psychosocial difficulties who had encountered a RECO during their RTW process were analysed using thematic analysis. Six different themes were found: communicative and coordinating skills; advisory and guidance skills; engagement and advocacy skills; being persistent and flexible; being empathic and therapeutic; being professional and trustworthy. Most of these are found in research on RTW coordinators, but being persistent, and having advisory, guidance, advocacy and therapeutic skills have not been recognised as important competences previously. This study adds patients’ views on important professional competence that support the RTW process, which should be regarded in further developments of RECOs’ functions and their competence descriptions.

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“…RTW coordinators have specialised knowledge of relevant policies, legal responsibilities and procedures, and can offer valuable process support by initiating the RTW process, providing timely information and support to supervisors ( Lysaght and Larmour-Trode, 2008 ), convening regular meetings of the RTW team and acting as a conduit between team members. Research attests that RTW coordinators can shorten disability duration ( Franche et al, 2005 ) and improve RTW rates ( Dol et al, 2021 ) although there is emerging evidence these impacts may differ for RTW from psychological ill-health ( MacEachen et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Mitigating the Suffering That Workers Experience During The Return-to-work Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing and Mitigating Suffering in the Return-to-Work Process

Woods

Matthewson

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Each year thousands of workers experience a serious illness or injury that necessitates time off work and a subsequent re-engagement with the work environment. In Australia, workers’ compensation legislation mandates the return-to-work (RTW) process is formal, structured, and negotiated between the worker, their employer, health care professionals and their RTW coordinator. How this is executed by those parties directly influences whether the RTW process is supportive and successful, or exacerbates the suffering of returning workers by causing them to feel ostracised, exposed, and vulnerable in their workplace. In this article, we examine how the RTW process can cause physical, emotional, social, and existential suffering for returning workers. We then discuss how the suffering that workers experience can be mitigated by five key factors: clarity of roles in the RTW process, alignment of worker and employer expectations, the advocacy provided by the RTW coordinator, the support provided for the worker’s psychological wellbeing, and the RTW literacy of supervisors and colleagues.

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Systematic Review of the Impact on Return to Work of Return-to-Work Coordinators

Cited by 33 publications

References 57 publications

Coordination and Perceived Support for Return to Work: A Cross-Sectional Study among Patients in Swedish Healthcare

Coordination and Perceived Support for Return to Work: A Cross-Sectional Study among Patients in Swedish Healthcare

Patients’ with Multimorbidity and Psychosocial Difficulties and Their Views on Important Professional Competence for Rehabilitation Coordinators in the Return-to-Work Process

Managing and Mitigating Suffering in the Return-to-Work Process

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