Work Rehabilitation Seen from the Inside
The research project “Work Rehabilitation Seen from the Inside” aims to create a better understanding of occupational rehabilitation as an intervention. The focus is on the process as seen from the participants’ perspectives and the staff’s perspectives, as well as the interactions between them.
Musculoskeletal pain and/or mild mental health challenges are the most common causes of sick leave in Norway. Occupational rehabilitation is offered to help people with these challenges increase their work capacity. Knowledge about how occupational rehabilitation is experienced from the participants’ point of view, as well as how staff work to help participants return to work, is limited. Using ethnographic methods—including observation, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews—the project aim to increase knowledge about the experience of occupational rehabilitation from the participants’ perspective, viewed in relation to how staff strategically work to achieve increased work capacity.
The project is conducted in collaboration with Friskgården, which provides occupational rehabilitation as part of the specialist health service in Central Norway. As a company, Friskgården has more than 25 years of experience with occupational rehabilitation and is well established in Trøndelag. The fieldwork will take place at Friskgården, Stod, and will be carried out by PhD student Kristine Næss. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling science and has strong expertise in qualitative research methods.
The project group consists of Kristine Næss, Anje Höper, and Mette Bech Risør. The group is interdisciplinary and covers the fields of medical anthropology, occupational health, and rehabilitation, and represents a collaboration between the General Practice Research Group at UiT and Occupational Health in the North.