Determinants of disability duration: the role of the occupational health physician

Summary:

Occupational health physicians spend a fair amount of their time on management of sick leave spells. In this study, the central question is to what extent sick leave duration is determined by medical factors. There are a number of sub questions:

1. What is the influence on sick leave duration of factors known by managers, such as gender, age, parttime work, salary, work-relatedness or cause of sick leave being for psychological complaints or not.
2. Which factors influence sick leave duration in case of mental disorder.
3. In the Netherlands and in the U.S. data are available concerning sick leave duration for specific diagnoses. To what extent can these data be compared to each other and what are the differences between the Netherlands and the U.S. What explains this difference.
4. What is the sick leave pattern of employees who have returned form a long sick leave spell, in the first year after their reintegration. Is their sick leave duration elevated, or the frequency of their sick leave spells? Do they suffer from relapses of their original disability?