Work incapacity and reintegration: Theory and design of a cross-national study

This article presents the theory and design of a prospective cross-national study on work incapacity and reintegration with cohorts of low back pain patients from Denmark, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. The aim of the project, which is being coordinated by the ISSA, is to learn how social security, labour, and healthcare systems address problems of work incapacity and reintegration and to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of various interventions, incentives, and disincentives on return to work. The article includes discussion of common problems that motivated the sponsors to join the project, the benefit programmes and services currently available in the participating countries, the theoretical model for the research, the project's core research design, and some key elements of its methodology.