FEATURE
HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE
Improving workplace health through research
By Dr Carol Coole, Research Occupational Therapist at the University of Nottingham’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Membership of the East Midlands Chamber has given us invaluable experience and access to employers. It might seem a bit unusual to have a research group as a member of the Chamber, so what is the Rehabilitation Research Group, and why did it join? The Rehabilitation Research Group
is part of the School of Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham. The group, led by Professor Avril Drummond, includes professionals with backgrounds in occupational therapy, nursing, physiotherapy and psychology. What brings us all together is wanting to find out how we can improve the care and treatment of people who have health problems by helping them do the things they need to do - including staying at work. Over the past decade there has
been a growing interest in how work affects our health - and vice versa. Several studies have shown that good work is good for our health, so understanding how to help people with health problems stay at work, or return to work after an illness or injury, is an important area of research. Likewise, organisations and businesses need a productive workforce and minimal sickness absence. It soon became clear when we
started doing our research about work and health that we needed to include not just patients and healthcare staff, but also people in the workplace. Many different people are involved when an employee is unwell; employers, managers, supervisors, colleagues, occupational health, human resources to name but a few. Their views and experiences are vital in understanding how to help people with health problems stay in work. These are some examples of the
research studies we have worked on: • Staying at work with low back pain
• Returning to work after stroke • Workplace support for people with long-term mental health problems
• Examining the use of the fit note • Mental Health First Aid in the workplace
64 business network October 2018 At the moment we are working
with employers and patients on a study to develop return-to-work advice for people undergoing hip or knee replacement. This will include a booklet for employers advising how to help members of their workforce return to work following the operation. This month we start a new study
to design a training programme specifically for occupational therapists in advising patients about their fitness for work. This is particularly important as the Government is considering extending sickness certification to health professionals other than doctors. Representatives from
organisations and workplaces in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire have taken part in focus groups and interviews as part of our studies, and we are enormously grateful for sharing their time, experiences and expertise with us. We also have representatives from organisations on our study management groups, to help us understand the workplace perspective. Membership of the Chamber has proved an excellent way of sharing information about our research, and involving local employers and employees in our studies. Last summer we attended one of
the Chamber's free member events and were invited to say a few words. We talked particularly about the study we were carrying out on Mental Health First Aid in the workplace, and how we were keen to make links with local employers. Later that day we were delighted to receive an email from LoatesHR, which was keen to connect with us about the study. Gill Phillips, HR Consultant with
LoatesHR, describes her experience of being a member of the study management group: “Mental health is such a significant issue for many of our clients, so I was really pleased to get the opportunity to be involved in this study. This involved my input in a number of ways, initially over email and a conference call and later an onsite meeting where I got to meet the research team
‘Over the past decade there has been a growing interest in how work affects our health - and vice versa’
and other organisation representatives. I also took the opportunity to promote the study via networking groups, social media and via our own website. “My experience of working with
the research group was really positive. I met other industry representatives, health specialists and academics in the field and really valued learning from their experiences. I was able to provide real-world and practical
examples of the HR issues arising from poor employee mental health, the key challenges employers face and how the MH First Aider training can assist with this. I felt that my feedback was taken seriously and I saw evidence of this where suggestions were incorporated into the survey questionnaires and outcome analysis. I would definitely agree to be involved with a similar study if the opportunity arose in The Rehabilitation Research Group.
Many different people are involved when an
employee becomes unwell
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