The efficacy and efficiency of Disability Management in job-retention and job-reintegration. A systematic review

BACKGROUND: Disability management (DM) is a systematic method to ensure job-retention and job-reintegration in competitive employment for individuals with a disability. There is evidence that ‘returning to work’ has a positive impact on the individual, the company and on the society. However, a clear overview of the efficacy and efficiency of the DM programs is scarce. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the efficacy and efficiency of the disability management programs. Cochrane, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science were searched from 1994 to 2015. METHODS: Two reviewers independently evaluated the articles on title, abstract, and full text. The data extraction and results are documented according to the study designs. RESULTS: Twenty-eight articles were included in the review. These 28 articles consisted of 7 systematic reviews, 3 randomized controlled trials, 9 clinical trials, 4 mixed-method studies and 5 qualitative studies. CONCLUSIONS: The DM program has shown to be effective and efficient. A consensus about the DM components is still not reached. Nevertheless, some components are emphasized more than others; job accommodation, facilitation of transitional duty, communication between all stakeholders, health care provider advice, early intervention, and acceptance, goodwill and trust in the stakeholders, in the organization, and in the disability management process.