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Handbook of Return to Work pp 695–703Cite as

Where Do We Go From Here in Return to Work Research, Policy, and Practice: A Postscriptum

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Part of the book series: Handbooks in Health, Work, and Disability ((SHHDW,volume 1))

Abstract

The traditional Cartesian mind–body approach to understanding work disability and return to work (RTW) processes and outcomes has failed from clinical, occupational, legal, societal, and economic perspectives (e.g., Schultz et al. 2000, 2007). In the last 20 years of research advancement, a paradigm shift in RTW research and evidence-informed practice has occurred. Unidisciplinary research approaches, either biomedical or purely psychosocial in focus, have gradually given way to multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary biopsychosocial models of RTW and stay at work (SAW). Inspired by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner 1979), and his nested conceptualization of systems as involving the interacting contexts of micro-system (individual variables), meso-system (organizational factors and interactions among micro-systems), macro-system (societal, policy, legislation, and cultural factors), and chrono-system (patterning of events over time), the individual-oriented research has become complemented by system-focused research. Aided by the increasingly popular International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) model of the World Health Organization (WHO 2001; Escorpizo et al. 2015), which emphasizes the dynamic interaction between an individual and a system, RTW research has further evolved into exploring and investigating these interactions and their various characteristics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education, University of British Columbia, 2125 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z4

    Izabela Z. Schultz Ph.D., A.B.P.P.

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Arlington, Life Science Building, Room 313, 501 Nedderman Drive, Box 19528, Arlington, TX, 96019, USA

    Robert J. Gatchel Ph.D., A.B.P.P.

Authors
  1. Izabela Z. Schultz Ph.D., A.B.P.P.
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  2. Robert J. Gatchel Ph.D., A.B.P.P.
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Correspondence to Izabela Z. Schultz Ph.D., A.B.P.P. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. and Special Education, Dept. Edu. and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education, VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada

    Izabela Z. Schultz

  2. Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA

    Robert J. Gatchel

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Schultz, I.Z., Gatchel, R.J. (2016). Where Do We Go From Here in Return to Work Research, Policy, and Practice: A Postscriptum. In: Schultz, I., Gatchel, R. (eds) Handbook of Return to Work. Handbooks in Health, Work, and Disability, vol 1. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7627-7_37

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