OP6
A WORKER-LED DIGITAL SOLUTION TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO EVIDENCE-BASED OH : RE>WORK
- Etuknwa, Swiss Re, London, UK
Background:
Many workers lack timely access to occupational health (OH) support, particularly in non-mandated systems and small or underserved workplaces.1 Moreover, implementing the return-to-work (RTW) evidence in real-world practice at scale remains a persistent challenge.2 Re>Work was co-developed to address the challenge and widen access to evidence-based OH for absent workers with a scalable, digital solution.
Aims:
To develop and evaluate a novel, worker-led digital platform that facilitates early engagement with employers, and healthcare stakeholders to co-produce a RTW plan.
Methods:
Re>Work was iteratively co-designed with over 150 stakeholders, including absent workers, employers, healthcare professionals, insurers, brokers, HR and academics, using a health-work knowledge transfer framework.3 The co-design process included interviews, workshops, simulation sessions, and prototype testing. Preliminary evaluation across insurer, employer, and healthcare pathways, was conducted to provide feedback on usability, acceptability, and perceived impact.
Results:
Feedback from workers on sickness absence showed high acceptability and perceived usefulness of Re>Work, with users describing the content and interface as clear, supportive, and appropriate to engage with while managing ongoing health needs. They also reported increased confidence, improved perceived work ability4, and greater readiness to consider return-to-work planning, alongside clearer expectations.
Feedback from deployers (employers, insurers, and vocational rehabilitation providers), described Re>Work as usable, credible, and valuable for supporting early engagement and shared understanding across return-to-work stakeholders.
Conclusions:
Re>Work has a potential for positive occupational outcomes. It is a scalable, low-cost digital solution that translates OH evidence into practice. A worker-led digital platform offers an innovative approach to work disability prevention.
References:
- Society of Occupational Medicine (2020). Universal access to occupational health: briefing document. London: Society of Occupational Medicine. Available at: https://www.som.org.uk/sites/som.org.uk/files/Universal_Access_briefing_document.pdf (Accessed: 6 January 2026).
- Iles, R. A., and Wyatt, M. (2013) Applying the evidence: a real-world example of an intervention to reduce worker’s compensation costs. Physical Therapy Reviews. DOI 10.1179/1743288X13Y.0000000090.
- Van Eerd D, Saunders R. (2017) Integrated knowledge transfer and exchange: An organizational approach for stakeholder engagement and communications. Scholarly Res Commun. 2017;8(1).
- Etuknwa, A., Burton, K., Barty’s, S. and McCahon, S. (2025) The Work Ability Score. Occupational Medicine. 00, 1–2 https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqaf125
