Europe PMC Funders Group Author Manuscript Scand J Work Environ Health. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 April 10. Published in final edited form as: Scand J Work Environ Health. 2016 July 01; 42(4): 261–272. doi:10.5271/sjweh.3576.

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Effectiveness of very early workplace interventions to reduce sickness absence: A systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis Sergio Vargas-Prada, MD, PhD1,2,3,4, Evangelia Demou, PhD5,6, Drushca Lalloo, MD5, Ione Avila-Palencia, MPH3,7,8, Kaveh A. Sanati, MD5,9, Maite Sampere, MD, PhD10, Kerry Freer, MD11, Consol Serra, MD, PhD1,3,4,12, and Ewan B. Macdonald, MD, OBE5 1Center

for Research in Occupational Health (CiSAL), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona,

Spain 2Unidad

Central de Contingencias Comunes (U3C), ASEPEYO

3CIBER

of Epidemiology and Public Health, Barcelona, Spain

4IMIM

(Hospital del Mar Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain

5Healthy

Working Lives Group, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

6MRC/CSO

Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

7ISGlobal,

Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL). Barcelona, Spain

Europe PMC Funders Author Manuscripts

8Universitat 9Epsom

Pompeu Fabra (UPF). Barcelona, Spain

and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, Carshalton, Surrey, SM5 1AA, UK

10Mutual

Midat Cyclops (MC Mutual), Barcelona, Spain

11Health

Management Limited, Glasgow, UK

12Department

of Occupational Health, Parc de Salut MAR, Barcelona, Spain

Abstract Objective—“To investigate the effectiveness of workplace interventions for return to work (RTW) delivered at very early stages (