Does gradually returning to work improve time to sustainable work after a work-acquired musculoskeletal disorder in British Columbia, Canada? A matched cohort effectiveness study

ObjectiveThis study investigates if gradual return to work (GRTW) is associated with full sustainable return to work (RTW) for seriously injured workers with a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD), in British Columbia, Canada.MethodsThis is an effectiveness study using a retrospective cohort study design....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Occupational and environmental medicine (London, England) England), 2021-10, Vol.78 (10), p.715-723
Main Authors: Maas, Esther T, Koehoorn, Mieke, McLeod, Christopher B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Disability management
Effectiveness studies
Employers
epidemiology
Injuries
Manufacturing
Manufacturing industry
Musculoskeletal diseases
musculoskeletal system
occupational health
Population
Sick leave
Sustainability
Wages & salaries
Workers
Workers' compensation
Workplace
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Summary:ObjectiveThis study investigates if gradual return to work (GRTW) is associated with full sustainable return to work (RTW) for seriously injured workers with a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD), in British Columbia, Canada.MethodsThis is an effectiveness study using a retrospective cohort study design. Accepted workers’ compensation lost-time claims were extracted for workers with an MSD who were on full work disability for at least 30 days, between 2010 and 2015 (n=37 356). Coarsened exact matching yielded a final matched cohort of 12 494 workers who experienced GRTW at any point 30 days post-injury and 12 494 workers without any GRTW. The association between GRTW and sustainable RTW through to end of 12 months was estimated with multivariable quantile regression.ResultsWorkers who were provided with GRTW experienced more time-loss days until sustainable RTW between the 2nd and 5th months after the first time-loss day (
ISSN:1351-0711
1470-7926
DOI:10.1136/oemed-2020-107014