Scoping review of work participation interventions in people with physical long term conditions

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this review was to explore work participation interventions for individuals with one of four physical long-term conditions (pLTCs): sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, severe asthma and inflammatory bowel disease. Existing research shows that a high priority is placed on work and employment by patients and work-focused support is not always provided by healthcare professionals. This suggests the importance of integrated work-based interventions to help support patients with pLTCs to boost their work participation. The aim of our review was to understand work participation and any relevant work interventions for the four populations. Method(s): We followed the PRISMA-ScR guidelines and conducted a systematic literature search across six databases and four grey literature sources. We published the protocol and search strategy on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/qbh3c/). To meet the eligibility criteria, studies needed to include participants with one of the four conditions (listed above), aged over 16 years, report work related information and could be quantitative, qualitative or an organisational report. We excluded studies published before January 2003 and opinion pieces, blogs or conference abstracts. Searches were exported to Rayyan and duplicates removed. Two reviewers independently screened study titles and abstracts to identify relevant articles. Full text screening is ongoing and will be followed by data extraction and narrative synthesis. Result(s): After the initial database searches and removal of duplications, we identified a total of 13,999 articles for severe asthma, 12,930 for cystic fibrosis, 5,833 for IBD and 2,537 for sickle cell disease. Following the title and abstract screening, we have been left with 383 for severe asthma, 247 for cystic fibrosis, 185 for IBD and 81 for sickle cell disease. From our initial full text screening, we discovered one article that uses a work based intervention for people with inflammatory bowel disease while no articles were discovered for sickle cell disease. The review is ongoing and will be completed by June 2024. Conclusion(s): This review will identify interventions to support work participation for adults with one of four pLTCs. The findings will be used to guide and further develop an intervention for adults with any of the four pLTCs described, which will be evaluated in the NHS through a future randomised controlled trial. Impact: This research is part of a wider body of work that will aim to improve the lives and occupational outcomes of those individuals living and working with pLTCs. This will also add to the wider body of literature around rehabilitation and return to work strategies. Funding acknowledgements: This research was part of an NIHR Programme Development Grant (NIHR206514) Keywords: Work, Physical Long Term Conditions Copyright © 2025