NORCE, Norwegian Research Centre, Bergen, Norway.
Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vestfold Hospital Trust, Tønsberg, Norway.
JBI Evid Synth. 2021 Oct;19(10):2739-2759. doi: 10.11124/JBISRIR-D-19-00433.
The objective of this scoping review was to identify studies combining the concepts of eHealth and work participation for sick-listed employees across diagnostic groups in health care and workplace contexts.
There is an increased demand for better health care services and technologies, and eHealth is proposed as a useful tool to improve efficiency and reduce costs. eHealth functions at the intersection of medical informatics, public health, and business, and may be a promising solution for managing the process of return to work among employees on sick leave. Assessment of work outcomes is essential in evaluating the effectiveness of health services, and there is a need to map the research literature on existing eHealth interventions to facilitate work participation.
This scoping review considered studies combining two core concepts: eHealth and work participation. It considered studies on eHealth interventions for employees (18 to 65 years of age) on sick leave due to any type of diagnosis or disability, conducted by any stakeholder in workplace or health care contexts and in any country. Empirical data from both quantitative and qualitative studies were included.
Published and unpublished studies from January 1, 2008, to August 21, 2020, written in English were included in this review. The search was conducted in MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, PsycINFO, WHO clinical registry, and ClinicalTrials.gov. A three-step search strategy was followed. Data extraction was performed by two independent reviewers and undertaken using an extraction tool developed specifically for the scoping review objectives.
This review identified 15 studies eligible for inclusion. Four studies delivered the eHealth intervention by telephone, while 10 interventions were web-based. Of the web-based interventions, five had a blended approach, such as website and email support, or website and social media platforms. One study used an app-based intervention. Only eight studies targeted employees sick-listed due to common sick leave diagnoses, such as common mental disorders and musculoskeletal disorders. The workplace context was the target of the eHealth intervention in seven studies, although the intervention was still delivered by health personnel such as therapists or occupational physicians. Collaboration on individual cases between the health professional, employer, and employee to facilitate work participation seemed to be rare. Four studies reported both a theoretical and an empirical base for the intervention used.
This review demonstrated that the use of eHealth interventions to facilitate work participation is limited, and there is a need for future studies on the use of eHealth technology for this purpose. Developing eHealth interventions specifically for populations at risk of long-term sick leave, and encouraging collaboration between all relevant stakeholders, may help improve work participation.
本次范围界定综述旨在确定将电子健康和工作参与这两个概念结合起来的研究，这些研究涉及医疗保健和工作场所背景下各种诊断类别的在册员工。
人们对更好的医疗保健服务和技术的需求不断增加，而电子健康被认为是提高效率和降低成本的有用工具。电子健康结合了医学信息学、公共卫生和商业领域的功能，可能是管理员工病假后重返工作岗位过程的一个有前景的解决方案。评估工作结果是评估卫生服务效果的关键，需要对现有的电子健康干预措施的研究文献进行映射，以促进工作参与。
本范围界定综述考虑了将两个核心概念（电子健康和工作参与）结合起来的研究。它包括针对因任何类型的诊断或残疾而在医疗保健和工作场所背景下，由任何利益相关者在任何国家开展的员工（18 至 65 岁）电子健康干预措施的研究。研究包括定量和定性实证数据。
本综述纳入了 2008 年 1 月 1 日至 2020 年 8 月 21 日期间发表和未发表的英文文献。检索范围包括 MEDLINE、Scopus、Embase、PsycINFO、世界卫生组织临床注册中心和 ClinicalTrials.gov。研究采用了三步骤搜索策略。两名独立评审员执行数据提取，并使用专门为范围界定综述目的开发的提取工具进行。
本次综述共确定了 15 项符合纳入标准的研究。四项研究通过电话提供电子健康干预，而 10 项干预措施基于网络。在网络干预中，有五项采用了混合方法，如网站和电子邮件支持，或网站和社交媒体平台。一项研究使用了基于应用程序的干预措施。只有八项研究针对因常见病假诊断（如常见精神障碍和肌肉骨骼疾病）而在册的员工。七项研究的电子健康干预目标是工作场所，尽管干预措施仍由治疗师或职业医生等卫生人员提供。健康专业人员、雇主和员工之间促进工作参与的个别病例合作似乎很少见。四项研究报告了干预措施使用的理论和实证基础。
本次综述表明，利用电子健康干预措施促进工作参与的应用有限，需要进一步研究电子健康技术在这方面的应用。针对有长期病假风险的人群开发电子健康干预措施，并鼓励所有相关利益攸关方之间的合作，可能有助于提高工作参与度。
