International Journal Of Occupational Health and Public Health Nursing

Employers’ Perceptions of Work Ability Knowledge Management in Collaboration with Occupational Health Services

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  • Abstract

    Good collaboration between employers and occupational health services (OHS) requires smoothly flowing information exchange, which can be used to improve work ability (WA) management. Our aim was to examine WA knowledge management in the collaboration between workplaces and OHS. The data were collected via telephone interviews in which 154 employers participated. The results showed that the relevant WA data were available when needed and, in the form needed. The most relevant data were assessments of work capacity, suspected occupational diseases, health and work hazards, and workload factors. WA data enables the identification of people whose WA is at risk and the coordination of measures to support their coping at work or return to work after sick leave. We also identified the main needs for knowledge and current practices of WA knowledge management. Further research is needed, especially on the bottlenecks in knowledge flows.

    Keywords: Health information exchange, Knowledge Management, Medical records, Occupational health services, Workplace.