Qualitative study of barriers and facilitators encountered by individuals with physical diseases in returning and continuing to work

Shunsuke Inoue; Seiichiro Tateishi; Arisa Harada; Yasushi Oginosawa; Haruhiko Abe; Satoru Saeki; Junichi Tsukada; Koji Mori

doi:10.1186/s12913-022-08604-z

Qualitative study of barriers and facilitators encountered by individuals with physical diseases in returning and continuing to work

BMC Health Serv Res. 2022 Oct 4;22(1):1229. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08604-z.

Authors

Shunsuke Inoue¹, Seiichiro Tateishi², Arisa Harada³, Yasushi Oginosawa⁴, Haruhiko Abe⁵, Satoru Saeki⁶, Junichi Tsukada⁷, Koji Mori¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Occupational Health Practice and Management, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, Kitakyushu, Japan.
² Disaster Occupational Health Center, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, Kitakyushu, Japan. tateishi@med.uoeh-u.ac.jp.
³ Department of Occupational Medicine School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, Kitakyushu, Japan.
⁴ The Second Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, Kitakyushu, Japan.
⁵ Department of Heart Rhythm Management, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, Kitakyushu, Japan.
⁶ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, Kitakyushu, Japan.
⁷ Hematology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, Kitakyushu, Japan.

Abstract

Background: The number of employees with physical diseases is increasing, and there is a need for support to help them return and continue to work. To provide effective support, it is important to identify barriers and facilitators for individuals in returning and continuing to work. Previous studies have reported barriers and facilitators for specific diseases. However, few reports have dealt with these issues across various diseases. To identify a range of barriers and facilitators that may apply to different physical diseases, we conducted a qualitative analysis by interviewing patients with diverse characteristics being treated for diseases.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews based on the criteria for qualitative research. We investigated three disease groups to obtain details of barriers and facilitators: impairments that were visible to other people (mainly stroke); impairments invisible to others (mainly heart disease); and impairments that changed over time (mainly cancer). Interview transcripts were analyzed and the results reported using systematic text condensation.

Results: We extracted 769 meaning units from 28 patient interviews. We categorized barriers and facilitators that were generalizable to various diseases into three themes (personal factors, workplace factors, and inter-sectoral collaboration and social resources) and 10 sub-themes (work ability, psychological impacts, health literacy, social status, family background, workplace structure, workplace system, workplace support, inter-sectoral collaboration, and social resources).

Conclusions: This study identified 10 sub-themes that can be applied for workers with physical diseases; those sub-themes may be used as a basis for communicating with those individuals about returning and continuing to work. Our results suggest that various barriers and facilitators for workers with physical diseases should be understood and addressed at medical institutions, workplaces, and support sites.

Keywords: Cancer survivors; Continue to work; Heart disease; Qualitative study; Return to work; Stroke.

MeSH terms

Disabled Persons
Humans
Qualitative Research
Return to Work
Stroke*
Workplace*

Abstract

MeSH terms

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