Issue:
Return to work (RTW) is that point when a worker’s ability to work has met or exceeded the demands of the job offered. But there is ambiguity at that threshold. Two very similar people can have different success at returning to similar work. We believe that we do not yet have a full understanding of the factors that are influencing that decision point to RTW. In this project we will return to the injured workers and also to people trying to work with the chronic disease of arthritis to try to understand the kind of things that were part of that decision to be at work or not. We will talk to them about their experiences on the day they went off or returned to work, looking for better ways to understand this in clinical assessments, research, workplace policy and insurance systems. Our results will not only improve our ability to measure and understand things, like how dynamic RTW is, but will also provide a framework for clinicians, policy makers and payers to think of when trying to improve success at RTW.
Objectives:
• To understand what factors, in addition to disorder activity/severity, are influencing the situation that leads to work absence versus work presence (at varying levels of productivity) in persons with a disorder deemed work-related and with a health conditions(inflammatory arthritis) that episodically impacts on work ability.
Anticipated Results:
The results of this project are relevant to WSIB specialty clinics, injured workers, and clinicians. Partners in this project include the WSIB Shoulder and Elbow Specialty Clinic – Holland Centre, as well as the Outcome Measurement in Arthritis Research (OMERACT).
Investigators:
Dorcas Beaton, Monique Gignac, Carol Kennedy-Yee, Kenneth Tang, I MacRitchie, R Richards
