How can doctors help their patients to return to work?

For most patients, work remains an important part of life. However, patients with chronic diseases often encounter difficulties upon returning to work after an episode of illness [1]. Helping to reintegrate patients into their workplace should, therefore, be an important treatment goal for every doctor. However, in a recent review of back pain treatment, we found that patients were dissatisfied because they did not get practical instructions from their physicians on how to cope with everyday problems [2]. The same was found in a qualitative study of patients with breast cancer [3]. When we asked cancer survivors if they had discussed return to work with their attending physician, it turned out that only half of them had done so [4]. A reason for the perceived lack of support of patients might be that most doctors who treat patients feel unsure how they could be involved in “return-to-work issues ” [5]. I would, therefore, like to provide a review of the most important theories involved in return to work and of the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions that improve a patient’s functioning, including his or her return to work after an episode of illness.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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• Work ability and return-to-work in cancer patients · 2008

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