Relationship between health services outcomes and social and economic outcomes in workplace injury and disease: data sources and methods

BACKGROUND: Understanding the mediating role of health care in mitigating social, economic and occupational role disability is a complex task. METHODS: No single method of research will be successful in addressing all elements of this NORA research priority area. In this paper, we argue that research methods are needed which have the following components: (1) the detailed measurement of therapeutic intervention and the impacts of this intervention on clinical and functional health status using study designs which rule out competing explanations, (2) a longitudinal follow-up component which measures social, economic, and occupational role function following the conclusion of therapy, and (3) a commitment to execute studies across multiple settings to observe the variations in health care and in social and occupational role function that arise as a result of differences in labor market factors and employer and government policies. CONCLUSIONS: More comprehensive portraits of the longitudinal trajectory of individual workers, social, economic and occupational role function following an occupational injury or illness will have significance for a large number of policy sectors