Grant: Healthy and Productive Work - PDG

Context: Working status plays a central role in the social identity of a person. Yet, each year, many workers have difficulty staying or returning to work due to a partial or total disability. The main causes of work disability are musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), common mental disorders (CMDs) (e.g., mood, anxiety and adjustment disorders), cancer and chronic diseases. In addition to these main causes of work disability, population characteristics (e.g., gender differences, immigration, ethnocultural diversity and aging of the workforce) lead to particular contexts to which interventions must be adapted. Currently, there are evidence-based interventions/practices, both at individual and organizational levels, to facilitate return to work after a long term absence associate to different causes. More companies are becoming aware of the importance of more efficiently managing work disability to promote employment maintenance and/or return to employment. However, many workplaces do not apply these practices in their standard practices or do so only partially. This can be explained, in part, by the fact that implementing evidence-based interventions occurs in a multi-stakeholder context, which is complex given that they come from four different social systems (the individual, health care, work environment, and compensation system). To transfer knowledge into an action plan, it is crucial that evidence-based interventions be adapted to the context. It is therefore essential to include disabled workers and community partners, at the business, insurance and health care level. Overall goal and objectives: Adapt evidence-based interventions and assess their applicability, effects and costs/benefits for subgroups of workers (MSDs, CMDs, cancer, chronic diseases) with disabilities impacting their ability to maintain employment or return to employment. Population characteristics will be considered, such as gender differences, immigration, ethnocultural diversity and aging of the workforce. This will promote conditions for a healthy, fulfilling and productive workplace. To do so, the following specific objectives are first necessary: Establish a common language between partners and researchers. Prioritize problems (health issues and population characteristics) requiring adaptation to evidence-based interventions and finally, design research projects on these issues, which will first be transferable in the Quebec context to limit variabilities due to provincial differences in legislations. Partners will be involved in about three consensus groups of about three hours each to establish a common language between partners and researchers. This is a critical step to ensure that our target audiences (stakeholders from the four systems) have access to information that will be understood by all. In the second step, there will be about three three-hour meetings with experts in the field and a literature review on population's characteristics and main causes of work disabilities. Based on these findings, about three three-hour consensus groups meetings will identify and prioritize adaptations required for evidence-based interventions. At this time, they will also determine what knowledge should be transferred. The partners representing the target audiences will thus have an active role throughout the study, with at least nine three-hour meetings in addition to preparation/reflection time. This initiative has already and clearly raised the enthusiasm of partners from the four different social systems. More than 15 community partners at the business, insurance and health care level, as well as disabled workers have confirmed their desire to be part of the partnership.