Search

BACKGROUND Living and working with chronic pain requires persons to alter lifestyles and have the knowledge as well as support to manage unforeseen challenges. Knowledge for persons living with pain who want to participate in meaningful paid and unpaid work is not easily accessible. While there is literature on chronic pain management, work transitions and return to work, less emphasis has been placed on the complexity of living and working with chronic pain. The Creating a Way Forward Project was envisioned to address this gap and to identify the informational needs of workers with pain, health/helping professionals (workers' advisors, return to work specialists, legal representatives), and stakeholders. The overarching aim of the project was to use evidence and experiential knowledge to inform the development of a foundation for educational guides and toolkits to support workers with pain to achieve their outcomes for remaining at work. METHODS Phase one of the project involved a scoping review of chronic pain and work. Phase two involved stakeholder consultations, a focus group and knowledge integration of the literature and experiential insights. Knowledge synthesis drew on a Template Analysis of multiple sources of data. RESULTS Knowledge domains and key components were identified for persons with pain and for the health/helping professions. CONCLUSION These domains reflect a foundation for knowledge in practical training and the development of curriculum for education in self-management program and in inter professional health profession education. These knowledge domains provide a basis for future research in integrated approaches and knowledge use toward improving transitions for persons living with chronic pain who want to participate in productive paid and unpaid work. Ongoing research in knowledge domains that health providers and persons with pain need will expand the potential for improving health outcomes in living with and managing pain.

Objectives The aim of this review was to understand and synthesize the realm of knowledge on intermittent work capacity (IWC) about strategies to support work sustainability. Specifically, this review focused on literature that examined productive work with individuals who have chronic pain due to Fibromyalgia, Breast Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, and Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Methods A scoping review of research conducted across 10 databases. Nature of the knowledge base on return to work barriers and strategies and future recommended strategies needed to support persons with IWC in maintaining work participation were charted and thematically analyzed and organized into micro, meso and macro categories. Results Majority of the knowledge base reflects factors impeding and facilitating employment or re-employment at the micro level. At the micro level, self advocacy was a strategy that persons with IWC used to maintain employment and navigate stigmatizing work environments to meet their needs. At the meso level education and knowledge sharing with employers to increase awareness was underscored; at the macro level introduction of new policies was recommended. Conclusions These findings suggest the need for future greater examination of the dialectical relationships across micro, meso and macro level strategies to overcome work disparities for persons with IWC.