IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0312478.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Have my back as I get back to work—Experiences of stakeholder support in returning to work after sick leave due to chronic pain: A qualitative interview study

Author

Listed:
  • Åse Lundin
  • Inger Ekman
  • Paulin Andréll
  • Mari Lundberg
  • Sara Wallström

Abstract

Background: Chronic pain (pain > 3 months) is a disabling condition affecting around one fifth of the population. Chronic pain significantly affects a person’s psychological and physical health and often interferes with the ability to work. It is one of the most common reasons for extended sick leave and persons with chronic pain often have difficulties returning to work. Interpreting the experiences of currently available is necessary in order to facilitate a return to working life. Therefore, this study aimed to describe and interpret the meaning of support during the return-to-work process for persons on sick leave due to chronic pain. Method: A qualitative interview study was conducted with 14 participants (12 women and 2 men) who experienced sick leave due to chronic pain. The participants were recruited through patient organizations focusing on pain or pain-related conditions. Collected data was analyzed using a phenomenological hermeneutical approach. Results: Have my back as I get back to work was the theme of the analysis, along with six subthemes. Being able to work was important for the participants. However, they often experienced returning to work was a battle for support, dealing with fragmentized backing from the involved stakeholders. Participants with access to collaborative support involving competent care, recognition and the possibility to influence their work felt valuable and capable as persons and workers. Thus, they were provided conditions allowing a successful re-entry into the workplace. Conclusions: Our findings contribute to an enhanced understanding of the importance of stakeholder support in persons with chronic pain re-entering the workplace after an extended break due to sick leave. Through an inclusive, collaborative and flexible approach involving all stakeholders working towards the same goal, a person with chronic pain can feel supported in developing and cultivating the capabilities necessary to manage life and work.

Suggested Citation

  • Åse Lundin & Inger Ekman & Paulin Andréll & Mari Lundberg & Sara Wallström, 2024. "Have my back as I get back to work—Experiences of stakeholder support in returning to work after sick leave due to chronic pain: A qualitative interview study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(10), pages 1-15, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0312478
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312478
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0312478
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0312478&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0312478?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cook, Jonathan E. & Purdie-Vaughns, Valerie & Meyer, Ilan H. & Busch, Justin T.A., 2014. "Intervening within and across levels: A multilevel approach to stigma and public health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 101-109.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mayank Aggarwal & Anindya S. Chakrabarti & Chirantan Chatterjee, 2023. "Movies, stigma and choice: Evidence from the pharmaceutical industry," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 1019-1039, May.
    2. Harvey, Tyler D. & Keene, Danya E. & Pachankis, John E., 2021. "Minority stress, psychosocial health, and survival among gay and bisexual men before, during, and after incarceration," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    3. Pellowski, Jennifer A. & Barnett, Whitney & Kuo, Caroline C. & Koen, Nastassja & Zar, Heather J. & Stein, Dan J., 2017. "Investigating tangible and mental resources as predictors of perceived household food insecurity during pregnancy among women in a South African birth cohort study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 76-84.
    4. Lauri Andress & Matthew P Purtill, 2020. "Shifting the gaze of the physician from the body to the body in a place: A qualitative analysis of a community-based photovoice approach to teaching place-health concepts to medical students," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-15, February.
    5. King, Wesley M. & Hughto, Jaclyn M.W. & Operario, Don, 2020. "Transgender stigma: A critical scoping review of definitions, domains, and measures used in empirical research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    6. Cadden, Margaret H. & Arnett, Peter A. & Tyry, Tuula M. & Cook, Jonathan E., 2018. "Judgment hurts: The psychological consequences of experiencing stigma in multiple sclerosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 158-164.
    7. Gaddis, S. Michael & Ramirez, Daniel & Hernandez, Erik L., 2018. "Contextualizing public stigma: Endorsed mental health treatment stigma on college and university campuses," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 183-191.
    8. Guise, Andy, 2024. "Stigma power in practice: Exploring the contribution of Bourdieu's theory to stigma, discrimination and health research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 347(C).
    9. Clair, Matthew & Daniel, Caitlin & Lamont, Michèle, 2016. "Destigmatization and health: Cultural constructions and the long-term reduction of stigma," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 223-232.
    10. Sarah E. West & Cressida J. Bowyer & William Apondo & Patrick Büker & Steve Cinderby & Cindy M. Gray & Matthew Hahn & Fiona Lambe & Miranda Loh & Alexander Medcalf & Cassilde Muhoza & Kanyiva Muindi &, 2021. "Using a co-created transdisciplinary approach to explore the complexity of air pollution in informal settlements," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-13, December.
    11. Fadumo Noor & Gabriel Gulis & Jens Soendergaard, 2018. "A Conceptual Framework for Chronic Disease Prevention Based on Multilevel Approach," Global Journal of Health Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(5), pages 175-175, May.
    12. Bryant, Jazmyne V. & Carcioppolo, Nick & Lun, Di & Potter, JoNell, 2023. "Entertainment-education to reduce internalized stigma, increase intimate partner status disclosure intentions, and increase antiretroviral medical adherence intentions: A randomized controlled trial t," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).
    13. Burke, Sara E. & Calabrese, Sarah K. & Dovidio, John F. & Levina, Olga S. & Uusküla, Anneli & Niccolai, Linda M. & Abel-Ollo, Katri & Heimer, Robert, 2015. "A tale of two cities: Stigma and health outcomes among people with HIV who inject drugs in St. Petersburg, Russia and Kohtla-Järve, Estonia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 154-161.
    14. Hartog, Kim & Hubbard, Carly D. & Krouwer, Angelica F. & Thornicroft, Graham & Kohrt, Brandon A. & Jordans, Mark J.D., 2020. "Stigma reduction interventions for children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: Systematic review of intervention strategies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    15. White Hughto, Jaclyn M. & Reisner, Sari L. & Pachankis, John E., 2015. "Transgender stigma and health: A critical review of stigma determinants, mechanisms, and interventions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 222-231.
    16. Dijkstra, Ilse & Horstman, Klasien, 2021. "‘Known to be unhealthy’: Exploring how social epidemiological research constructs the category of low socioeconomic status," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    17. Arpino, Bruno & Gumà, Jordi & Julià, Albert, 2023. "Non-standard family histories and wellbeing at older ages," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    18. Rafael Denadai & Junior Chun-Yu Tu & Ya-Ru Tsai & Yi-Ning Tsai & Emma Yuh-Jia Hsieh & Betty CJ Pai & Chih-Hao Chen & Alex Kane & Lun-Jou Lo & Pang-Yun Chou, 2019. "Workflow and Strategies for Recruitment and Retention in Longitudinal 3D Craniofacial Imaging Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-14, November.
    19. Claire Henderson & Petra C. Gronholm, 2018. "Mental Health Related Stigma as a ‘Wicked Problem’: The Need to Address Stigma and Consider the Consequences," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-13, June.
    20. Omar T. Sims & Jhumka Gupta & Stacey A. Missmer & Irene O. Aninye, 2021. "Stigma and Endometriosis: A Brief Overview and Recommendations to Improve Psychosocial Well-Being and Diagnostic Delay," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-12, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0312478. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.