Free online service improves return to work 5-12 13 Feb 2008

Annually, workplace injury and illness costs Australians more than $20 billion in lost productivity and medical expenses.

The Return To Work Knowledge Base is an online service endorsed by Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. It aims to inform employees, employers, practitioners and insurers on the best worldwide research on return to work issues. Access is free and the research evidence is translated clearly and in an easy to read format.

Dr Mary Wyatt, Chair of the Knowledge Base Project says, “The emotional, social and financial cost of workplace injury and illness to Australian workers and their families is unacceptable.”

Research shows that returning to work as quickly as possible after an injury or illness results in the best health outcome for workers.

The Return To Work Knowledge Base contains over one hundred articles covering medical factors, the consequences of being out of work, workplace management models, attitudinal factors and return to work approaches.

Today’s financial strain on families means the ability to maintain employment is important.

Wyatt says, “The Return To Work Knowledge Base was developed with the support and assistance of workers, employers, insurers and medical practitioners. Representatives of these groups participated in a series of focus groups to identify appropriate research material and resources for the site”

The Return to Work Knowledge Base “www.rtwknowledge.org” will be launched on Tuesday March 11 2008.