Workplace interventions for preventing work disability

Workplace interventions appear to reduce sickness absence in patients with musculoskeletal symptoms but do not affect health outcomes

A Cochrane review included six randomized controlled trials involving 749 workers; three on low back pain, one on upper-extremity disorders, one on musculoskeletal disorders, and one on adjustment disorders. Five studies were rated as having low risk of bias for the sickness absence outcome.

The results of this review show that there is moderate-quality evidence to support the use of workplace interventions to reduce sickness absence among workers with musculoskeletal disorders when compared to usual care. However, workplace interventions were not effective to improve health outcomes among workers with musculoskeletal disorders. The lack of studies made it impossible to investigate the effectiveness of workplace interventions among workers with mental health problems and other health conditions.

Comment: The evidence is downgraded because of indirectness (a secondary outcome: sickness absence vs. musculoskeletal symptoms).

Ədəbiyyat

1. van Oostrom SH, Driessen MT, de Vet HC, Franche RL, Schonstein E, Loisel P, van Mechelen W, Anema JR. Workplace interventions for preventing work disability. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2009 Apr 15;(2):CD006955.