Incapacité de travail prolongée. Revue des facteurs de risque professionnels et des stratégies d'intervention

Some risk factors significantly associated with long term disability have been identified: being employed in heavy jobs, fear-avoidance reactions and psychosocial occupational factors such as job dissatisfaction, lack of work control, insufficient support, poor relationships with colleagues, but also the worker's own perception of his ability to return to work. Early detection of these perceived barriers to return to work is needed. With regard to intervention strategies, the review, limited to low back pain associated work absences, supports the value of ergonomic changes in the working environment and the importance of participative interventions. The communication between the return to work actors (i.e. clinical physicians, occupational physicians, employers, insurers and the worker himself) is a key factor in the success of the intervention. Finally, in heavier workload occupations, promoting a systematic access to a transitory light duty position appears to be an interesting guideline.