Workplace-based return-to-work interventions: a systematic review of the quantitative and qualitative literature

Reasons for the study

Employers, insurers and workers have expressed a growing interest in workplace-based return-to-work (RTW) intervention studies. To provide a comprehensive summary of the most effective workplace-based RTW interventions and to direct future research priorities in this area, the Institute for Work & Health conducted a systematic review of the return-to-work literature published since 1990. The systematic review was initiated at the request of Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Researchers sought to answer the following question: "What workplace-based return-to-work interventions are effective and under what conditions?"

Progress

The results of the systematic review were published in 2004, and became the basis of the Institute's popular tool Seven "Principles" for Successful Return to Work.