Sustainable return to work

A study to test a sustainable return to work intervention using the 'IGLOO' methodology (focusing on Individuals, Groups, Leaders and Organisations). This is a two arm pilot cluster randomised control trial to inform whether and how a future fully-powered definitive trial might take place.

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Project overview

This project tests a sustainable return-to-work intervention using the 'IGLOO' methodology (focussing on Individuals, Groups, Leaders and Organisations) developed and used regularly by Professor Karina Nielsen. It is designed to offer organisations a potential intervention to help employees on long term sick leave return to work in a more efficient and reliable way and prevent relapse. Activities are targeting workers on sick leave, their line managers, Human Resources and senior managers, who all play a key role in supporting the worker during and after sick leave.

It will include a two arm pilot cluster randomised control trial to inform whether and how a future fully-powered definitive trial might take place. In particular, it will look at the willingness of organisations and their workers on long-term sick leave and their line managers to take part in a 30 month study, and study retention, selection bias, intervention delivery and fidelity, and implementation of intervention delivery and adherence after the worker has returned to work. It will also conduct a pilot process evaluation to monitor how the intervention is perceived by participants from different demographic groups (to understand what works for whom in which circumstances) and test a full process evaluation methodology in advance of a full trial.

Funding details

Funder Dates Value
National Institute for Health Research Policy Research Programme January 2022 to December 2024 £658,521

Staff involved

 Alongside Professor Fehmidah Munir, Professor of Health Psychology at Loughborough University.

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