Sustaining Work Participation Across the Life Course.
Glenn S Pransky, Jean-Baptise Fassier, Elyssa Besen and 4 others
PMID 27704342WHAT IT FOUND
Workplace disability prevention has little research to guide practice.
Supervisor support, accommodations and flexible work are associated with staying employed, but interventions have not shown clear work retention effects.
Key findings
01The review reports little research to guide workplace work disability prevention practice.
02Studies of workers with chronic medical conditions identify supervisor support and ability to modify work as key factors.
03Interventions aimed at worker self-management and supervisor support improved self-efficacy for staying at work but showed no significant impact on return to work or work retention.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
It is a narrative review from a conference subgroup, not a systematic review with a defined search, so the selection of evidence may reflect the authors' focus. It reports no original participants or outcomes, so it cannot show that any workplace strategy works. Many cited studies did not separate results for workers with chronic illness, so conclusions about chronic conditions are indirect. The evidence on workplace interventions for mental health is described as heterogeneous and of low quality. The review did not address young workers with health conditions in depth or many other chronic conditions.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this review as proof that workplace accommodations or supervisor support improve work participation. It reports associations and expert recommendations, and it says there is little research to guide practice.