Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28624757›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2017

Implementation of a disability management policy in a large healthcare employer: a quasi-experimental, mixed-methods evaluation.

Cameron A Mustard, Kathryn Skivington, Morgan Lay, Marni Lifshen, Jacob Etches, Andrea Chambers

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 88% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Cameron A MustardDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Kathryn SkivingtonPublic Health Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Morgan LayResearch, Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Marni LifshenResearch, Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Jacob EtchesInstitute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Andrea ChambersInfection Prevention and Control, Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Institute for Work & Health · CAPublic Health Ontario · CAInstitute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences · CAUniversity of Glasgow · GB

Funding

Chief Scientist Office SPHSU15CIHR 123365Medical Research Council MC_PC_13027Medical Research Council MC_UU_12017/15
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThis study describes the process and outcomes of the implementation of a strengthened disability management policy in a large Canadian healthcare employer. Key elements of the strengthened policy included an emphasis on early contact, the training of supervisors and the integration of union representatives in return-to-work (RTW) planning.

designThe study applied mixed methods, combining a process evaluation within the employer and a quasi-experimental outcome evaluation between employers for a 3-year period prior to and following policy implementation in January 2012.

participantsStaff in the implementation organisation (n=4000) and staff in a peer group of 29 large hospitals (n=1 19 000). OUTCOMES: Work disability episode incidence and duration.

resultsBoth qualitative and quantitative measures of the implementation process were predominantly positive. Over the 6-year observation period, there were 624 work disability episodes in the organisation and 8604 in the comparison group of 29 large hospitals. The annual per cent change in episode incidence in the organisation was -5.6 (95% CI -9.9 to -1.1) comparable to the annual per cent change in the comparison group: -6.2 (-7.2 to -5.3). Disability episode durations also declined in the organisation, from a mean of 19.4 days (16.5, 22.3) in the preintervention period to 10.9 days (8.7, 13.2) in the postintervention period. Reductions in disability durations were also observed in the comparison group: from a mean of 13.5 days (12.9, 14.1) in the 2009-2011 period to 10.5 days (9.9, 11.1) in the 2012-2014 period.

conclusionThe incidence of work disability episodes and the durations of work disability declined strongly in this hospital sector over the 6-year observation period. The implementation of the organisation's RTW policy was associated with larger reductions in disability durations than observed in the comparison group.

Indexed as

Disability EvaluationOccupational Health ServicesAdultCanadaEmploymentFemaleHumansIncidenceMaleManagement AuditPersons with DisabilitiesPolicy MakingQuality of Health CareReturn to WorkWorkplaceCanadadisability managementinjury preventionworkplace intervention

Identifiers

PMID28624757
PMCPMC5541574
OpenAlexW2626374373

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.