The Library
Obstacles to returning to work with chronic pain : in-depth interviews with people who are off work due to chronic pain and employers
Tools
Grant, Mary, Rees, Sophie, Underwood, Martin and Froud, Robert J. (2019) Obstacles to returning to work with chronic pain : in-depth interviews with people who are off work due to chronic pain and employers. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 20 (1). 486. doi:10.1186/s12891-019-2877-5 ISSN 1471-2474.
|
PDF
WRAP-obstacles-returning-work-chronic-pain-in-depth-interviews-Grant-2019.pdf - Published Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Download (602Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12891-019-2877-5
Abstract
Background:
The global burden of chronic pain is growing with implications for both an ageing workforce and employers. Many obstacles are faced by people with chronic pain in finding employment and returning to work after a period of absence. Few studies have explored obstacles to return-to-work (RTW) from workers’ and employers’ perspectives. Here we explore views of both people in pain and employers about challenges to returning to work of people who are off work with chronic pain.
Methods:
We did individual semi-structured interviews with people who were off work (unemployed or off sick) with chronic pain recruited from National Health Service (NHS) pain services and employment services, and employers from small, medium, and large public or private sector organisations. We analysed data using the Framework method.
Results:
We interviewed 15 people off work with chronic pain and 10 employers. Obstacles to RTW for people with chronic pain spanned psychological, pain related, financial and economic, educational, and work-related domains. Employers were concerned about potential attitudinal obstacles, absence, ability of people with chronic pain to fulfil the job requirements, and the implications for workplace relationships. Views on disclosure of the pain condition were conflicting with more than half employers wanting early full disclosure and two-thirds of people with chronic pain declaring they would not disclose for fear of not getting a job or losing a job. Both employers and people with chronic pain thought that lack of confidence was an important obstacle. Changes to the job or work conditions (e.g. making reasonable adjustments, phased return, working from home or redeployment) were seen by both groups as facilitators. People with chronic pain wanted help in preparing to RTW, education for managers about pain and supportive working relationships.
Conclusions:
People with chronic pain and employers may think differently in terms of perceptions of obstacles to RTW. Views appeared disparate in relation to disclosure of pain and when this needs to occur. They appeared to have more in common regarding opinions about how to facilitate successful RTW. Increased understanding of both perspectives may be used to inform the development of improved RTW interventions.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor R Medicine > RB Pathology |
||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Clinical Trials Unit Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School |
||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Chronic pain -- Economic aspects -- Research, Employees -- Health aspects, Qualitative research -- Methodology | ||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders | ||||||
Publisher: | Biomed central | ||||||
ISSN: | 1471-2474 | ||||||
Official Date: | 27 October 2019 | ||||||
Dates: |
|
||||||
Volume: | 20 | ||||||
Number: | 1 | ||||||
Article Number: | 486 | ||||||
DOI: | 10.1186/s12891-019-2877-5 | ||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 5 November 2019 | ||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 8 November 2019 | ||||||
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
|
Request changes or add full text files to a record
Repository staff actions (login required)
View Item |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year