O12
THE ROLE OF VOCATIONAL SUPPORT WORKERS IN SUPPORTING PATIENT’S RETURN-TO-WORK: QUALITATIVE FINDINGS FROM THE WORK AND VOCATIONAL ADVICE (WAVE) TRIAL
R. Harrison1, G. Wynne-Jones1, C. A. Chew-Graham1, I. Madan2, V. Parsons3, K. Walker-Bone4, G. Mansell5, B. Saunders1
1Keele University, UK
2Occupational Health Service, Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
3School of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, UK
4Monash University, Monash, Australia
5Aston University, Birmingham, UK
Over 2.6 million people in the UK are absent from work due to ill-health yet accessing vocational support during sickness absence to facilitate return-to-work (RTW) is challenging for many people. Despite this there is a paucity of evidence about what vocational support is effective when delivered in primary care settings.
As part of the Work And Vocational advicE (WAVE) trial, we aimed to explore the delivery of vocational support by trained Vocational Support Workers (VSWs), from the perspectives of patients, VSWs, employers and general practitioners.
Health Research Authority (HRA) ethical approval was granted for the study, and we conducted semi-structured interviews with patients who received vocational support (n=10), employers (n=2), VSWs (n=2), and GP (n=1). Patients were sampled for gender, age, fit note reason, RTW status and geographical location. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Public and Patient Involvement has been embedded throughout the study, including their input into early analysis of these findings.
All participants saw return-to-work (RTW) planning as an individualised process. Taking a person-centred approach enabled VSWs to identify and mitigate obstacles to RTW and build patients’ self-efficacy to proactively negotiate their RTW. Employers also saw the potential benefit of such support. The role of the VSW as independent from their GP and employer was considered important in facilitating honest conversations about people’s readiness to RTW.
A person-centred approach to vocational support, delivered independently of the person’s healthcare and workplace, is vital to support people to make decisions about return to work.
