Rehabilitating workers aged 55 and over: professionals’ perspectives and solutions

Purpose Work disability affects a growing number of workers aged 55 and over (W55+). While rehabilitation programs have demonstrated efficacy for workers with an average age of 42, they often have not been designed to meet unique needs of aging workers. This study aimed to describe the difficulties encountered by work rehabilitation professionals and explore their solutions for improving services offered to W55+. Methods This study used a simple descriptive design with purposive sampling. Occupational therapists, physical therapists, and psychologists were mainly recruited in private clinics. An interview guide based on the Work Disability Paradigm, was pretested and used with the participants. Qualitative interviews were conducted with work rehabilitation professionals and then transcribed. A thematic analysis was performed. Results The sample consisted of fourteen (15) participants (average age 38 years) with near equal representation across genders and disciplines. Difficulties were identified in relation to the (1) characteristics of W55+, (2) work environment, (3) compensation system, and (4) communication among stakeholders. Five solutions were proposed to improve the services offered: provide healthcare professionals with access to tools and training, implement communication mechanisms, integrate a return-to-work coordinator, develop a joint action plan for managing W55+, and implement an integrative prevention approach in workplaces. Conclusions Our results represent a first step in mapping various stakeholders’ needs to ensure better support for W55 + with work disabilities. These results delineate a roadmap for future research that should expand upon these stakeholders’ perspectives to provide a more comprehensive description of their needs and potential solutions.