Table 5 General study information, intervention characteristics, and findings from included reviews
Author (year) | Type of review | Objective | Study Types | Participants | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
de Boer, Taskila [2] | Systematic review & meta-analysis | Evaluate the effectiveness of RTW interventions | 15 RCTs | Adults with cancer diagnosis and employed (n = 1835) | Low quality evidence that psycho-educational interventions are equivalent to CAU. Moderate quality evidence that multi-disciplinary interventions are superior to CAU. |
Fong, Murphy [43] | Systematic review & meta-analysis | Evaluate the effectiveness of RTW interventions | 8 RCTs, 4 quasi-experimental | Adults with current or past cancer diagnosis (n = 2151) | Multi-component interventions, including one or more behavioural, psychological, educational or vocational component appear to improve employment status for cancer patients, but high risk of bias in the literature means results should be interpreted with caution. Methodological limitations make isolating specific components difficult. |
Hoefsmit, Houkes [1] | Systematic review | Investigate intervention characteristics that facilitate RTW | 18 quantitative, 5 systematic reviews | Adults on sick leave for any reason (n unclear) | Generally, early timed (within 6-weeks of initial sick leave) and multi-disciplinary RTW interventions are effective. For musculoskeletal-related sick leave, time-contingent and activating (e.g., gradual RTW) interventions are effective. |
Mikkelsen and Michael [3] | Systematic review & meta-analysis | Investigate the effectiveness of RTW interventions | 31 RCTs, 8 controlled trials | Adults on sick leave with common psychological, stress, somatoform, or personality disorders (n = 38,938) | Timing, duration, gradual RTW, and therapeutic elements had no consistent effect. Interventions with workplace contact and multiple components were effective. Interventions targeting stress disorders were effective. Effect sizes / improvements were small. |
Palmer, Harris [44] | Systematic review | Investigate the effectiveness of RTW interventions | 34 RCTs, 8 cohort studies | Adults on sick leave with musculoskeletal disorders (n unclear) | Early timed and low duration interventions were effective. Interventions that included gradual RTW were effective. Effects were only modest. The other characteristics were ineffective. |
Stergiopoulos, Cimo [45] | Systematic review | Investigate the effectiveness of RTW interventions | 1 systematic review, 3 RCTs, 3 pre-post | Adults on sick leave with work-related PTSD (n = 212, in 6 original studies) | There was good preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of exposure in RTW interventions. |
Vogel, Schandelmaier [13] | Systematic review & meta-analysis | Investigate the effectiveness of RTW interventions compared to CAU | 14 RCTs | Adults on sick leave or with disability (n = 12,568) | Review found that RTW programs had no effects compared to usual practice on RTW outcomes. |