Abstract
The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases among the European working age population, as well as the implications for the individual and societal level, underline the need for policy guidelines targeting the effective inclusion of persons with chronic diseases in the workplace. The aim of the present paper was to explore the perspectives of European and National-level stakeholders on existing strategies for work re-integration of persons with chronic diseases, and to provide policy guidelines. A highly-structured interview protocol was distributed to 58 National level stakeholders (policy makers, professionals and employers) from seven European countries. Additionally, 20 European organizations concerned with health-related issues and employment completed an online survey. The findings reveal that employment-related challenges remain largely unaddressed. Both national and European stakeholders considered the existing legislative frameworks inadequate and appraised the co-ordination for the implementation of employment re-integration policies as ineffective. Policies targeting at work re-integration of persons with chronic diseases at European and national level should focus on consistent cooperation among all key stakeholders, awareness raising to staff and management, dissemination of effective strategies, developing research and evaluation standards and establishing monitoring systems on inclusive labour markets.
Highlights
Work and health are interrelated in many ways
The aim of this paper was to explore the current situation of strategies targeting employment re-integration of persons with chronic diseases (PwCDs) in Europe and across European countries, and the opportunities to promote their participation in the labour market, from the perspective of both national and European level stakeholders
The differences across the European welfare models revealed the gap existing among the European countries in terms of available and implemented employment re-integration policies and strategies, and the possibilities and the need to put into practice a common European framework to prevent the unemployment and the exclusion from the labour market of persons with chronic diseases
Summary
Work and health are interrelated in many ways. The increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases among the European working age population, combined with the dramatic low employment rates of persons with chronic diseases (PwCDs), is an indicative depiction of this particular relation.Recent data from 27 EU member states, showed that about one quarter of the working age population (23.5%) had a chronic disease, while 19% reported having long-standing health issues [1]. According to the 2011 ad-hoc module of the EU Labour force survey [9], the employment rate of persons with long-standing health issues, in the EU Member States, was nearly 30% lower than the percentage of those without such issues; a significant gap that has become wider, during the post-recession years [10] These data suggest that a significant number of working age European citizens are either excluded from the open labour market, facing long-term unemployment [11] or are economically inactive being/becoming recipients of scarce passive measures, such as disability benefits and pension [12]
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