The Role of the Employer in Supporting Work Participation of Workers with Disabilities:A Systematic Literature Review Using an Interdisciplinary Approach

Purpose There is growing awareness that the employer plays an important role in preventing early labor market exit of workers with poor health. This systematic review aims to explore the employer characteristics associated with work participation of workers with disabilities. An interdisciplinary approach was used to capture relevant characteristics at all organizational levels. Methods To identify relevant longitudinal observational studies, a systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO and EconLit. Three key concepts were central to the search: (a) employer characteristics, (b) work participation, including continued employment, return to work and long-term work disability, and (c) chronic diseases. Results The search strategy resulted in 4456 articles. In total 50 articles met the inclusion criteria. We found 14 determinants clustered in four domains: work accommodations, social support, organizational culture and company characteristics. On supervisor level, strong evidence was found for an association between work accommodations and continued employment and return to work. Moderate evidence was found for an association between social support and return to work. On higher organizational level, weak evidence was found for an association between organizational culture and return to work. Inconsistent evidence was found for an association between company characteristics and the three work outcomes. Conclusions Our review indicates the importance of different employer efforts for work participation of workers with disabilities. Workplace programs aimed at facilitating work accommodations and supervisor support can contribute to the prevention of early labor market exit of workers with poor health. Further research is needed on the influence of organizational culture and company characteristics on work participation

Exploring Employer Perspectives on Their Supportive Role in Accommodating Workers with Disabilities to Promote Sustainable RTW: A Qualitative Study

Purpose: Employers play an important role in facilitating sustainable return to work (RTW) by workers with disabilities. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how employers who were successful in retaining workers with disabilities at work fulfilled their supportive role, and which facilitators were essential to support these workers throughout the RTW process. Methods: We conducted a semi-structured interview study among 27 employers who had experience in retaining workers with disabilities within their organization. We explored the different phases of RTW, from the onset of sick leave until the period, after 2-years of sick-leave, and when they can apply for disability benefit. We analyzed data by means of thematic analysis. Results: We identified three types of employer support: (1) instrumental (offering work accommodations), (2) emotional (encouragement, empathy, understanding) and (3) informational (providing information, setting boundaries). We identified three facilitators of employer support (at organizational and supervisor levels): (1) good collaboration, including (in)formal contact and (in)formal networks; (2) employer characteristics, including supportive organizational culture and leadership skills; and (3) worker characteristics, including flexibility and self-control. Conclusions: Employers described three different possible types of support for the worker with disabilities: instrumental, emotional, and informational. The type and intensity of employer support varies during the different phases, which is a finding that should be further investigated. Good collaboration and flexibility of both employer and worker were reported as facilitators of optimal supervisor/worker interaction during the RTW process, which may show that sick-listed workers and their supervisors have a joint responsibility for the RTW process. More insight is needed on how this supervisor/worker interaction develops during the RTW process

Factsheet Groene re-integratiepraktijken voor mensen met psychische problemen

Gemeenten zijn per 1 januari 2015 verantwoordelijk voor uitvoering van de Jeugdwet, Wmo en de Participatiewet. De invoering van de Participatiewet leidt tot de toestroom van een nieuwe doelgroep waaronder veel mensen met psychische problemen die behoefte hebben aan langdurige ondersteuning.De decentralisaties vormen een grote uitdaging voor gemeenten. Niet alleen komen er nieuwe taken op gemeenten af, maar er wordt ook flink bezuinigd. Gemeenten moeten dus meer doen met minder geld. Maar er zijn ook kansen.Voor het eerst krijgt één partij, de gemeente, zeggenschap over praktisch het hele sociale domein. De decentralisaties maken dwarsverbanden tussen de Wmo/Awbz, de jeugdzorg en het domein van werk en inkomen mogelijk. Werkplekken waar mensen vanuit de participatiewet, WMO en jeugdzorg terecht kunnen hebben daarom de aandacht van gemeenten.Deze factsheet gaat over de mogelijkheden die het groen biedt voor re-integratie van mensen met psychische problemen. Interessante voorbeelden van re-integratie initiatieven zijn stadslandbouwbedrijven, landschapsonderhoud,zorgboerderijen, groenonderhoud en groene wijkinitiatieven.De factsheet is gebaseerd op literatuuronderzoek, interviews en groepsgesprekken met initiatiefnemers, mensen met psychische problemen die werken in het groen (deelnemers) en betrokken beleidsmedewerkers van verschillende groene re-integratie initiatieven. In deze factsheet komen de volgende thema’s aan bod:• Welke vormen van groene re-integratie bestaan er in Nederland?• Wat is de mogelijke theoretische onderbouwing en wat zijn de werkzame elementen van groene re-integratie?• Wat zijn de randvoorwaarden van groene re-integratie? En wat is er nodig om deze vorm van re-integratie verder inte bedden en op te schalen

Vinden van passend werk bij een arbeidsbeperking is voor veel bedrijven lastig

Werkgevers hebben een actieve rol bij de re-integratie en het bevorderen van arbeidsparticipatie van werknemers met een arbeidsbeperking. Niet elke werkgever slaagt echter hierin. Met welke werkgeverskenmerken hangt het creëren van mogelijk­heden voor passend werk samen

Impact of digital interdisciplinary consultation on secondary care referrals by general practitioners:a protocol for a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION: Optimal collaboration between general practice and hospital care is crucial to maintain affordable and sustainable access to healthcare for the entire population. General practitioners (GPs) are the gatekeepers to specialist care and patients will visit hospitals mostly only after referral. However, a substantial part of these referrals may be inappropriate, as communication between GPs and medical specialists can be challenging and referring patients may be the most obvious action for a GP to perform.A new digital platform (Prisma) connects GPs and specialists in interdisciplinary groups and facilitates asynchronous, accessible and fast teleconsultation within the group. No previous research has been done to evaluate the impact of this new platform on the referral rates to the hospital. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial (RCT) will be performed in Zwolle region in the Netherlands to analyse the effect of introduction of the platform on rate of inappropriate referrals to orthopaedic surgery. In four steps, GPs in the region will be given access to the platform. GPs will be part of the control condition until randomisation to the intervention. According to our sample size calculation, we need to include 18 practices with 1008 patients presenting with hip and knee symptoms. Routine care data of hospital registrations will be analysed to calculate the rate of inappropriate referrals (primary outcome). Secondary outcome are costs, primary and secondary care workload, posted cases and user satisfaction. Alongside this quantitative analysis, we will evaluate patient experience, facilitators and barriers for use of the platform. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The medical ethics review board of University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), the Netherlands (METc-number: 2021/288) has confirmed that the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (WMO) does not apply to the process evaluation because the study does not involve randomisation of patients or different medical treatments (letter number: M21.275351). TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NL9704

Platelet degranulation and bleeding phenotype in a large cohort of Von Willebrand disease patients

Von Willebrand disease (VWD) is a bleeding disorder caused by quantitative (type 1 or 3) or qualitative (type 2A/2B/2M/2N) defects of circulating von Willebrand factor (VWF). Circulating VWF levels not always fully explain bleeding phenotypes, suggesting a role for alternative factors, like platelets. Here, we investigated platelet factor 4 (PF4) in a large cohort of patients with VWD. PF4 levels were lower in type 2B and current bleeding phenotype was significantly associated with higher PF4 levels, particularly in type 1 VWD. Based on our findings we speculate that platelet degranulation and cargo release may play a role across VWD subtypes