Fit for work – with conditions

A role for condition management in OH practice

Summary:

Employers are increasingly focused on attendance management and expect OH professionals to deliver, particularly in long-term absence cases and return to work. Condition management may prove another useful tool to address illness behaviour and psychosocial barriers to recovery.

IT is over three years since the launch of the UK government’s health, work and wellbeing strategy[1]. There has been notable progress, such as the landmark report from Dame Carol Black[2] and the subsequent government response[3]. Perhaps the biggest achievement to date is, superficially, quite simple. It is the general awareness that being unemployed is bad for health and that, conversely...

Prof John Harrison is clinical director for organisational health and wellbeing at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and associate professor of clinical organisational development at Brunel University Business School

Author: Harrison J

Tags absence condition management fitness for work Rehabilitation Return to work

Occupational Health at Work June/July 2009 (vol. 06/1) pp14-16

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