Rehabilitation and return to work: Analysis report on EU and Member States policies, strategies and programmes
Journal Title: Niepełnosprawność - zagadnienia, problemy, rozwiązania - Year 2017, Vol 0, Issue 22
Abstract
This study investigates the systems for rehabilitation/return to work in place in the 28 European Union (EU) Member States, along with the four European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. It analyses what factors play a role in the development and implementation of a rehabilitation/return-to-work system. Finally, it identifies a number of elements of rehabilitation/return-to-work systems in European countries that could be considered as success factors. Systems for rehabilitating sick and injured workers are increasingly viewed as important elements of national policy approaches towards the ageing workforce. Between 2002 and 2013, life expectancy in the EU-28 increased by 2.9 years, from 77.7 to 80.6 years (Eurostat, 2015a). In parallel, the proportion of 55- to 64-year-olds in the total working-age population rose strongly between 2000 and 2015 (from 16% to 20%) and is expected to reach 21% in 2020 (Fotakis and Peschner, 2015). Ageing is accompanied by a higher risk of developing (chronic) health disorders, such as depression, chronic bronchitis, cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal disorders. In 2013, 33.4% of the older employed population (55–64 years) in the EU-28 suffered from a long-standing illness or health problem compared with 14.6% of the younger employed population (16–44 years) (Eurostat, 2015b). This ageing of the European workforce, combined with the stagnation of healthy life years and the prevalence of long-standing illness in older age groups, is compelling workplaces and national social security systems to improve the management of sickness absence and adapt work to chronic conditions and mild disabilities. Long-term sickness absence often leads to unemployment and is a major predictor for all types of exit from the labour market, including disability pension (OECD, 2010) and early retirement (Aranki and Macchiarelli, 2013), which are all major financial burdens for Member States, the workplace and society. Actions aimed at prevention – that is, at avoiding sickness – both at the workplace (occupational safety and health (OSH) interventions) and outside the workplace (public health interventions) are clearly important. But if sickness occurs, measures focusing on rehabilitation and return to work are also important in avoiding or minimising sickness absence leading to disability. This report analyses the systems in place for rehabilitation and return to work in the 28 EU Member States and the four EFTA countries. It also incorporates the evidence gathered through case studies describing return-to-work programmes in nine Member States and the results of expert workshops held in 10 Member States. The country studies were drafted by national experts in the field of health and safety at work between September 2013 and June 2014 and, therefore, this report does not include new policies or initiatives that countries might have introduced afterwards.
Authors and Affiliations
EU-OSHA European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP230127
- DOI -
- Views 72
- Downloads 0
Pojazdy autonomiczne jako ułatwienie mobilności kierowców z niepełnosprawnością
Mobilność osób z niepełnosprawnością jest ważnym zagadnieniem cywilizacyjnym. W celu ułatwienia prowadzenia pojazdu osobie z niepełnosprawnością konieczne jest odpowiednie przygotowanie samochodu. Rozwiązania takie konce...
Report from the 2nd Nationwide Scientific-Methodical Conference Intellectual Disability. Health – Education – Therapy. Sexuality of People with Intellectual Disabilities
This article is a report on the 2nd Nationwide Scientific-Methodical Conference on the subject: Intellectual disability. Health – Education – Therapy. Sexuality of persons with disabilities which was held on 8 December 2...
Notetaking as a form of support for education of deaf and hard of hearing students
The purpose of this paper is to present specific forms of support for the education of pupils and students with impaired hearing, which is to prepare special notes of the lessons and lectures. Such notes allow full acces...
Internet Without Barriers – Accessibility and Usability vs the Needs of the Disabled
Internet without barriers – that is such as constitutes a communication space regardless of gender, age, culture or the degree of disability. In order to be able to use the Internet in this case, one needs not only an in...
Świadczenie pielęgnacyjne z tytułu rezygnacji z zatrudnienia lub innej pracy zarobkowej, przyznawane na rzecz osoby sprawującej opiekę nad osobą niepełnosprawną
Polityka państwa dotycząca niepełnosprawności obejmuje m.in. zagadnienie świadczeń pielęgnacyjnych na rzecz osoby sprawującej opiekę nad osobą niepełnosprawną. Prawodawca i podmioty administrujące powinny kierować się da...