Research Updates

This page lists all research updates available on Return to Work Matters.

Research is chosen for review based on quality of the evidence and its practical value in return to work.

Requests to undertake reviews of research on particular subjects are welcome.

Click the ‘Topics’ button below to drill down into all articles and research updates on your topic of interest.

Co-worker collateral

contributorRTWMatters team

Return to work processes are designed to help injured workers recover on the job but co-workers...

Team players or nay-sayers?

contributorRTWMatters team

Five things that make or break co-worker support for modified duties during the early days of...

Training to fail?

contributorRTWMatters team

Australian Return to Work Coordinators complain about the quality and relevance of the training...

Positivity and disability

contributorRTWMatters team

What personality traits and experiences make people more likely to cope with adversity such as...

The downside of accommodation

contributorGabrielle Lis

A look at the challenges faced by supervisors obliged to oversee modified duties in a workplace...

Jargon busters

contributorGabrielle Lis

Researchers are worried that medical mumbo jumbo hurts recovery. What happens when medical...

Back to basics: RTW plans

contributorRTWMatters team

What aspects of RTW planning are the most important, according to supervisors and rehabilitation...

Asking questions improves RTW motivation

contributorDr Mary Wyatt

Motivational interviewing promotes better RTW results, especially for people who lose or leave...

The talking heart of RTW

contributorRTWMatters team

What kinds of communication skills do supervisors need to support injured workers?

Supervisors and the bureaucracy of RTW

contributorRTWMatters team

In order to support RTW, supervisors must understand injury management systems and processes....

Flexible workers or flexible work?

contributorGabrielle Lis

Choice and control is good for worker health, according to a review of the research on workplace...

Popularity contest

contributorRTWMatters team

Rehabilitation professionals see the personal qualities of supervisors (e.g. honesty, fairness...

Work hours = health risk?

contributorGabrielle Lis

Working more than 39 hours per week negatively impacts mental health; as do very short working...

Research reveals top ten supervisor skills for RTW

contributorRTWMatters team

Honesty, respect for privacy, job knowledge and tough love all make the list of supervisor...

Support or confrontation?

contributorGabrielle Lis

Supervisors discuss whether support is enough to keep workers with MSDs at work, or whether a...

Rethinking injury and unfairness

contributorGabrielle Lis

Why do some people focus on the injustice of their injury while others move on with equanimity?...

Profile: Supervisors who support modified duties

contributorGabrielle Lis

Supervisors who show concern and respect for workers, who have the autonomy to make decisions...

What helps depressed workers stay at work?

contributorGabrielle Lis

Workplace interventions, CBT and stretching can all reduce sick leave amongst workers with...

An intervention for low back pain that works

contributorGabrielle Lis

Evidence-based! Cost-effective! Proactive! Popular! You will love this new workplace...

Tick, tick, tick

contributorGabrielle Lis

The more time that elapses before low back injury is reported and treated, and the longer...

Twins in pain?

contributorGabrielle Lis

Negative ideas about pain can derail recovery and return to work, causing immense frustration...

Five ways to manage conflict

contributorRTWMatters team

Integration, obligation, domination, avoidance and compromise are all valid ways to manage...

Going backwards on mental health

contributorGabrielle Lis

Australian organisations are missing out on many opportunities to promote and support good...

Do workplace interventions improve RTW outcomes?

contributorGabrielle Lis

Workplace interventions are effective for workers with musculoskeletal disorders, but the...

What do employers think of GPs?

contributorGabrielle Lis

Workers compensation systems rely on collaboration between stakeholders to achieve good...

Corralling the research on cancer and RTW

contributorGabrielle Lis

The evidence-based low-down on a problem many Australians will face: returning to work after...

We need to talk about GPs

contributorGabrielle Lis

According to Canadian researchers the responsibilities of GPs in relation to workers...

Q: Are psychosocial interventions effective treatments for chronic pain?

contributorGabrielle Lis

A: CBT, ACT and mindfulness therapies can help people remain active and cope with chronic pain,...

(Mis)managing mental health claims in Australia

contributorGabrielle Lis

GPs, injured workers, employers and insurers weigh in on the difficulties of managing mental...

Snapshot: Sickness certification by Australian GPs

contributorGabrielle Lis

Eight years of data from the Victorian workers compensation system reveals that GP certification...

Trends in GP sickness certification

contributorGabrielle Lis

GPs issue more unfit for work certificates every year, according to research from Victoria,...

Stakeholders explain GP sickness certification practices

contributorGabrielle Lis

Patient advocacy, workplace conflict, social circumstances and fee structures all influence...

Does RTW training for physios improve outcomes?

contributorGabrielle Lis

RTW training for physiotherapists changes physical and mental health outcomes but not RTW...

RTW snakes and ladders

contributorGabrielle Lis

Physiotherapists and claims managers weigh in on what helps injured workers get over the RTW...

RTW Coordinator: essential qualities and attributes

contributorA. Richey

A return to work (RTW) coordinator in the Australian context helps an injured worker with...

Fair winners, fair losers in dispute resolution

contributorA. Richey

What makes dispute resolution outcomes seem fair to workers?

Employee Decision-Making about Disclosure of a Mental Health Disorder at Work - part 2

contributorA. Richey

Part two looks at the processes employees go through in weighing up the risks and benefits of...

Employee Decision-Making about Disclosure of a Mental Health Disorder at Work - part 1

contributorA. Richey

Discussing mental health at work is a complex issue. The authors of this research, Kate Toth...

Why would a seriously injured firefighter choose to return to high risk work?

contributorA. Richey

Bonds with co-workers and love of a particular job makes return to work appealing even after...

Occupational Stress in the Ambulance Service: a diagnostic study

contributorA. Richey

Due to political and economic change, demands on public servants are escalating in a back...