Actions related to workers, employers, and the workplace associated with musculoskeletal and mental health diseases in workers on sick leave: a qualitative systematic review

The objective of this study was to describe the interventions for the labor reintegration of workers on medical leave due to musculoskeletal and mental health diseases, according to actions related to the worker, the employer, and the workplace. This study consists of a qualitative systematic review, without restriction of publication date, conducted in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and MEDLINE/PubMed scientific bases. In addition, the Epistemonikos database was used. Nineteen articles were selected. It is observed that all interventions proposed actions with the workers, such as rehabilitation programs, therapies and return to work plans. Regarding the actions in the workplace, only three interventions articulated actions with workers and evaluation of the workplace. Finally, actions with employers were considered in 10 interventions with the objective of involving the employer in the improvement of the workplace and planning for the worker’s return to work. It can be seen that interventions for patients with musculoskeletal and mental health disorders can be divided into the following categories: worker-oriented interventions, employer-oriented interventions, and workplace actions. In each of these categories, various interventions can be seen, ranging from multidisciplinary intervention to exercise-based rehabilitation, in the case of musculoskeletal disorders, and occupational therapy to the psychotherapeutic method based on music, for mental health disorders.