Work Ability during the Return to Work Process: Results from a Mixed Methods Follow-Up Study Among Employees with Common Mental Disorders.
Alexandra Sikora, Ralf Stegmann, Ute B Schröder and 3 others
PMID 39915346WHAT IT FOUND
Work ability scores rose from 5.33 to 6.73 on a 10-point scale during return to work.
Employees with moderate scores reported fragile stability dependent on daily form, while those with high scores described regained self-efficacy and effective work-life balance.
Key findings
01Average work ability ratings increased significantly from baseline to 18 months post-discharge.
02Employees with moderate work ability scores described their stability as fragile and dependent on daily form, often struggling to balance work and private life.
03Employees with good to very good work ability scores reported regained self-efficacy and a stable balance between work and private life.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
All data were self-reported. The sample was not randomly selected, so selection bias may have occurred. A healthy entrance effect cannot be excluded due to narrow inclusion criteria. Recall bias may have occurred for RTW measures and accommodations. Cause-effect relationships cannot be determined from this observational design. Findings are specific to the German social security and mental healthcare system.
Declared interests
Funded by the Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin (BAuA). No other conflicts of interest are explicitly detailed in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the rise in average scores as evidence that all employees successfully return to work. The study shows significant variation, with many employees in the moderate group experiencing fragile stability and high work-life conflict, indicating that a simple increase in score does not guarantee sustainable return to work.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →