About Fit for Work Europe
Fit for Work is a programme based on a groundbreaking study, conducted across 25 European countries in Europe and beyond, which examined the impact of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) on an idividuals ability to work and therefore the impact to economies and society as a whole.
In 2007, The Work Foundation published UK research which demonstrated that improvements in early intervention, treatment and return to work practices could help people of working age, with even severe MSDs, stay in work. It found that there were often real health benefits associated with staying in, or returning to, work but that many employers, clinicians and even employees felt that temporary or permanent withdrawal from employment was the only option. In the UK, lost working time attributable to MSDs cost the economy £7 billion in 2007. The UK report, Fit for Work? Musculoskeletal Disorders and Labour Market Participation, gained the attention of policymakers and the media, and informed the evolution of Government thinking on the issue of early intervention, prompted a debate in the UK parliament and contributed to the initiation of a Government review of the costs and benefits of treatment and care for rheumatoid arthritis patients in the UK.
In order to extend the Fit for Work initiative, The Work Foundation received a research grant from Abbott to extend the project into 25 countries in the EU and beyond. Using secondary data sources, interviews with national experts, and findings from the most recent clinical and economic literature, the Fit for Work studies strive to:
1. Examine early intervention practices across the European Union and beyond with respect to a number of MSDs (chronic low back pain, work-related upper limb disorders, rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthropathies).
2. Estimate the economic and social costs and benefits of early intervention and condition management, with specific reference to improvements in labour market participation.
3. Focus on, in more detail, early intervention, condition management and rehabilitation practices highlighting – and attempting to account for – international differences in both practice and outcome.
4. Produce an accessible report of findings which can be used to positively contribute to both policy and practice in the EU and national level, which can be disseminated through conference presentations and papers.
The Work Foundation’s research is presented in individual country reports throughout 2009 and 2010, together with the overview report for a European audience launched in Brussels on 30 September 2009.
The goal of Fit for Work is to stimulate and develop debate, policy and practice across each participating country and the EU as a whole, and to ensure that the early diagnosis and treatment of workers with MSDs takes into account the positive health impact of high quality employment on rehabilitation and, in some cases, recovery.
