Explaining the gender difference in sickness absence and testing the efficacy of a clinical intervention to promote return to work in women 

Aims This project will explore the gender difference in sickness absence, and examines whether this can be mitigated by a clinical intervention. 

What the research will involve:

In work package (WP1) we explore five potential hypotheses for the gender difference in sickness absence rates, three of them with a novel angle, and two original: 

1. Can gender differences in health explain the gap, and if so, which health problems are causing this?  

2. Do gender differences in the experiential aspects of the working environment explain this difference? 

3. Can beliefs about the curative or preventative effects of sickness absence explain the gender difference?  

4. Does the novel concept of psychological barriers for return to work explain the difference?  

5. Can differences in wishes and expectations for labour force participation and other life priorities contribute to explain the differences? 

In WP2, we will test the efficacy of a specialist clinical occupational health intervention in mitigating the gender difference in sickness absence. 

What has the study found so far?

Starting in mid 2024 

Study Team: Dr Sharon Stevelink, Prof Ira Madan  

Further information: sharon.stevelink@kcl.ac.uk 

Funder: Norwegian Research Council