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. 2018 Sep;28(3):393-417.
doi: 10.1007/s10926-017-9730-1.

Determinants of Sickness Absence and Return to Work Among Employees with Common Mental Disorders: A Scoping Review

Haitze de Vries  1 , Alba Fishta  2 , Beate Weikert  2 , Alejandra Rodriguez Sanchez  2 , Uta Wegewitz  2
Affiliations

Determinants of Sickness Absence and Return to Work Among Employees with Common Mental Disorders: A Scoping Review

Haitze de Vries et al. J Occup Rehabil. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose To present an overview of the existing evidence on prognostic factors of (recurrent) sickness absence (SA) and return to work (RTW) among workers with a common mental disorder (CMD). This scoping review provides information about determinants for SA and RTW, which could be used to develop better interventions aimed at the prevention of SA and promotion of RTW among workers with a CMD. Methods Relevant articles were identified in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX, and SINGLE up to October 2016. In order to be included, studies should provide insight into prognostic factors of SA or RTW of workers with a CMD. We classified all factors according to the domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Results Our searches identified 2447 possible relevant articles, of which 71 were included for data extraction. There is consistent evidence in ≥3 studies that previous episodes of CMD, higher symptom severity, previous absenteeism, co-morbidity, high job demands, low job control, high job strain, female gender, lower educational level, smoking behavior, and low perceived general health are predictors of SA in people with CMDs. Earlier RTW is consistently predicted by lower symptom severity, having no previous absenteeism, younger age, and positive expectations concerning sick-leave duration or RTW. Conclusions The amount of research on determinants for SA and RTW in workers with CMD has increased dramatically in recent years, although most studies are from the Netherlands and Scandinavia. There are some research gaps identified in this scoping review that need further attention in primary and secondary studies. Based on the summary of the evidence, we provide guidance for policy, practice and research.

Keywords: Common mental disorders; Prognostic factors; Return to work; Scoping review; Sickness absence.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of search results and screening stages
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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