Implementing a collaborative return-to-work program: Lessons from a qualitative study in a large Canadian healthcare organization.
Kathryn Skivington, Marni Lifshen, Cameron Mustard
PMID 27792035WHAT IT FOUND
Managers and union return-to-work coordinators supported a new healthcare return-to-work program but described tensions: unclear coordinator roles, generic plans focused on restrictions, co-worker burden, confidentiality worries, budget pressures, distrust of independent medical assessments, and low confidence supporting mental health returns.
Key findings
01Participants were unsure about the return-to-work coordinator role, and no one clearly owned follow-up after the initial return.
02Return-to-work plans were described as generic and focused on restrictions rather than on what the worker could do.
03Workers returning with mental health conditions were seen as harder to support, and specific guidance was missing.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study was conducted in a single organization, so the tensions may not apply to other workplaces or healthcare systems. It reports views of managers and coordinators, not workers, and no return-to-work outcomes were measured. Only 10 coordinators were interviewed because no more could be recruited, so their themes may not cover all coordinators. The authors say further research is needed to test how collaboration affects return-to-work outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. They were asked by the organization to act as independent evaluators and were not part of developing or implementing the program.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that the program improves return-to-work rates. It reports managers' and coordinators' views of implementation, not worker outcomes, and the authors say further research evaluating outcomes is needed.