SynthesisJournal of occupational rehabilitation2012
Management of long term sickness absence: a systematic realist review.
Synthesis in Journal of occupational rehabilitation, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Towards a better understanding of work participation among employees with common mental health problems: a systematic realist review.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2022Pooled it
- Self-certification versus physician certification of sick leave for reducing sickness absence and associated costs.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Effectiveness of very early workplace interventions to reduce sickness absence: a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2016Pooled it
- Variation in mental health-related sickness absence duration: The role of occupational health professionals.PloS one · 2026Article
- Line manager perspectives on workplace-based efforts to reduce sickness absence: a qualitative study.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2025Article
- Self-perceived barriers to returning to work among employees with a low educational level on long-term sick leave: the "NOW WHAT" large-scale interview study.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2025Article
- Exploring the Role of Sickness Absence Coordinators in Implementing Interventions to Reduce Sickness Absence in Public Sector Workplaces in Denmark.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Collaboration in the return-to-work process after sick leave due to common mental disorders: a qualitative study of stakeholders' views on goals and roles.BMC public health · 2024Article
- The effectiveness of implemented interventions at the workplace to promote the mental health of working women: A systematic review.Journal of education and health promotion · 2024Review
- Metabolic syndrome and the risk of severe cancer events: a longitudinal study in Japanese workers.BMC cancer · 2023Article
- Metabolic Syndrome and the Increased Risk of Medically Certified Long-term Sickness Absence: A Prospective Analysis Among Japanese Workers.Journal of epidemiology · 2023Article
- Article
- Management of Chronic Musculoskeletal Disorders in the Workplace from the Perspective of Older Employees: A Mixed Methods Research Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Understanding work participation among employees with common mental disorders: What works, for whom, under what circumstances and how? A systematic realist review protocol.Work (Reading, Mass.) · 2021Article
- How People with Multimorbidity and Psychosocial Difficulties Experience Support by Rehabilitation Coordinators During Sickness Absence.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2021Article
- Correspondence in Stakeholder Assessment of Health, Work Capacity and Sick Leave in Workers with Comorbid Subjective Health Complaints? A Video Vignette Study.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2016Article
- The Management of Long-Term Sickness Absence in Large Public Sector Healthcare Organisations: A Realist Evaluation Using Mixed Methods.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2015Article
- GPs' negotiation strategies regarding sick leave for subjective health complaints.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2015Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe increasing impact and costs of long term sickness absence have been well documented. However, the diversity and complexity of interventions and of the contexts in which these take place makes a traditional review problematic. Therefore, we undertook a systematic realist review to identify the dominant programme theories underlying best practice, to assess the evidence for these theories, and to throw light on important enabling or disabling contextual factors.
methodA search of the scholarly literature from 1950 to 2011 identified 5,576 articles, of which 269 formed the basis of the review.
resultsWe found that the dominant programme theories in relation to effective management related to: early intervention or referral by employers; having proactive organisational procedures; good communication and cooperation between stakeholders; and workplace-based occupational rehabilitation. Significant contextual factors were identified as the level of support for interventions from top management, the size and structure of the organisation, the level of financial and organisational investment in the management of long-term sickness absence, and the quality of relationships between managers and staff.
conclusionsConsequently, those with responsibility for managing absence should bear in mind the contextual factors that are likely to have an impact on interventions, and do what they can to ensure stakeholders have at least a mutual understanding (if not a common purpose) in relation to their perceptions of interventions, goals, culture and practice in the management of long term sickness absence.
Indexed as
Identifiers
22447311What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.