Worker perception and expectation of return to work: a Spanish cohort

1. Worker perception and expectation of return to work: a Spanish cohort with a long-term non-work-related sick leave episode. Maite Sampere(1,2), David Gimeno (2,3,4), Consol Serra (2,4,5), Manel Plana (1), Juan Carlos López (1), José Miguel Martínez (2,4), George L. Delclos (2,4,6), Fernando G. Benavides (2,4). (1) Mutual Midat Cyclops (MC MUTUAL), Spain; (2) Center for Research in Occupational Health (CISAL), Spain. (3) The University of Texas School of Public Health. San Antonio, USA; (4) CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain; (5) Parc de Salut MAR, Spain; (6) The University of Texas School of Public Health. Houston, USA. Health Research Fund (FIS 04/1062) and Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in Spain (FIPROS/2006/78) INTRODUCTION RESULTS Association of worker perceptions of current sick leave and expectations of return to work with time to return to work in a cohort of workers with a non-work-related sick leave of more than 15 days (n=663). • Non-work-related sick leave episodes (i.e., injuries or diseases of nonoccupational origin) are responsible for most of the economic cost arising from all temporary sick pay benefits in Spain, currently exceeding 8 billion Euros1. • Health professionals often estimate sick leave duration until return to work (RTW), but their accuracy to predict duration of long-term sick leave is questioned2. • Workers with sick leave may estimate its duration more accurately than health professionals, especially in cases of long-term sickness absence3. • There is only limited research on time to RTW in workers with lengthy non-work-related sick leave to help design interventions to reduce time to RTW and to prevent workers in temporary sick leave to progress to permanent disability and early job retirement. Crude Adjusted * AIM To examine the associations between worker perceptions of current sick leave episode and worker expectations about future RTW and time to RTW in a cohort of workers with a current non-work-related sick leave episode exceeding 15 days of duration. METHODS • Population base were 210,285 workers from 22,626 companies in the Spanish provinces of Barcelona and Madrid for whom a single health insurance company (mutua) provided case management of non-work-related sick leave episodes. • Cohort participants included 663 workers with a current non-work-related sick leave episode >15 days of duration recruited during the first medical visit in one mutua. • Participants were followed until their sick leave episode ended. • A baseline questionnaire at recruitment collected data on sociodemographic, occupational factors and workers perception on the sick leave episode and expectations of RTW (i.e., health status, work ability, expectations and time to RTW, relation between health and work and self-efficacy). • RTW and time to RTW status were established based on the mutua’s register. • A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariate Cox regression models were used to examine the associations of worker perception on the sick leave episode and expectation of RTW with time to RTW. A HR<1 express a longer time to RTW. *HRa: adjustedforage, sex, co-habitation status, physicalactivity, jobinsecurity, daysonsickleave at recruitment and mutuallyadjusted. CONCLUSIONS • Workers with a long-term (>15 days) non-work related sick leave episode who reported poor health, extremely reduced work ability and lack of expectations of returning to the same job, took longer to RTW than their counterparts. • Worker perceptions of current sick leave episode and expectations of RTW are important prognostic factors in lengthy non-work-related sick leave episodes. • Questioning the workers on their perceptions and expectations of RTW during medical visits could help health care professionals to identify individuals at risk of long-term sickness absence and facilitate triage and management of the patient. Bibliografía 1. Estadísticas e informes. Ministerio de Trabajo e Inmigración. [Statistical and reports. Ministry of Labour and Immigration]. Available at: http://www.seg-social.es 2. Reiso H, Gulbrandsen P, Brage S. Doctors’ prediction of certified sickness absence. Family Practice 2004;21:192-8. 3. Fleten N, Johnsen R, Førde O. Length of sick leave – Why not ask the sick-listed? Sick-listed individuals predict their length of sick leave more accurately than professionals. BMC Public Health 2004;4:46.