Grant: Operating Grant

This proposal focuses on the comparative effectiveness of work disability management and return to work policies and practices across jurisdictions that include representative Canadian provinces, Australian states and the country of New Zealand. The proposal has five aims: 1) develop a policy framework that links variation in work disability management policy and practices across participating jurisdictions to work disability and return-to-work outcomes; 2) expand current initiatives in developing comparative data across participating jurisdictions; 3) investigate, using comparable jurisdiction-specific cohorts, the trends and variations in severe work injuries and work disability with the goal of identifying the key intra- and inter-jurisdictional drivers of these differences; 4) implement an integrated knowledge engagement strategy to disseminate research findings. The proposed project will increase our understanding of effective work disability management and provide evidence on the mechanisms through which we can effectively intervene in preventing and reducing its burden.