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Occupational Health 2018 Journal of Nursing and Health Studies
ISSN: 2574-2825 Page 50
May 28-29, 2018
London, UK
4th Edition of International Conference on
Occupational Health and
Safety
Introduction: Helping workers return to work (RTW) early has
become crucial as evidence from studies suggests that extended
absence from work becomes detrimental to physical and mental
health, making it difficult for workers to RTW at all, which then
increases bespoke costs. However, there is still a significant gap
in knowledge regarding the sustainability of RTW after ill-health.
Objective: A systematic review was conducted to synthesize
empirical evidence on the impacts of personal and social factors
such as; support from leaders and co-workers, job crafting and
employee’s personal characteristics on sustainable RTW after ill-
health.
Methods: 79 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. All 79
studies were critically appraised, and data were extracted and
synthesised.
Results: The narrative synthesis showed: all evaluated personal
and social factors showed a general consistent positive effect on
sustainable RTW; studies assessing job crafting and employee’s
personal characteristic like duration of absence, economic
status/income and job contract/ security were too few to draw
a definite conclusion on, even though they presented exciting
areas for future studies and; findings also produced inconsistent
evidence surrounding the effects of gender, implying that gender
likely interacts with a factor or range of factors to influence RTW.
Conclusion: Sustainable RTW was evident across studies,
indicating that although age and education influence the
outcome, returning workers are more likely to have a positive
attitude towards work and confidence in carrying out their duties
on RTW in an environment where the RTW fosters support from
both leaders and co-workers.
Biography
Abasiama Etuknwa is currently a PhD student at Norwich Business School-
University of East Anglia. She holds a BSc and MSc degree in Biochemistry
and Environmental Health respectively. Her research interests are within the
areas of occupational health and safety, ergonomics and work-related well-
being. She is particularly interested in determining practical measures that
would reduce work-related risk to health, reduce sickness absence and help
employees on sick leave return to work sustainably.
Sustainable return to work after ill-health:
personal and social factors
Abasiama Etuknwa, Kevin Daniels and Constanze Eib
University of East Anglia,UK
Abasiama Etuknwa et al., J Nurs Health Stud 2018, Volume 3
DOI: 10.21767/2574-2825-C2-005