Minister Anna Tenje visits KI's new Centre for return to work
On Wednesday 25 March, Minister for Older People and Social Security Anna Tenje visited Liljeholmen's University Health Centre to learn about the work of the newly formed Stockholm Centre for return to work. The centre is led by Theo Bodin, associate professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet.
The Stockholm Centre for return to work is one of three national research centres funded by Forte with the aim of meeting two growing societal challenges: increasing mental illness and long sick leave.
At Karolinska Institutet, research, healthcare and working life actors are now brought together in a joint structure to develop and evaluate initiatives that can improve both individuals' health and the functioning of the labour market. Region Stockholm is a key partner in this work and enables close links between research and clinical activities.
Goal to prevent sick leave
The centre is based on a clear interdisciplinary approach where medicine, psychology, epidemiology and working life research are integrated. The research covers both primary care and occupational health care and aims to identify effective methods to prevent sick leave and support return to work.
"We are trying to move from describing the problems to actually testing solutions in real environments," says Theo Bodin, senior researcher at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, who leads the centre together with Lydia Kwak, researcher at the same department. "The ambition is to produce knowledge that can be used directly in healthcare, in workplaces and in policy development."
Scaling up in primary care
A central part of the centre's work takes place in primary care, where research efforts are now being scaled up. Among other things, work-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is being further developed, which aims to integrate treatment interventions with support for return to work. The Lowest Effective Sick Leave (LESS) method is also included in the research.
In total, studies are planned at twelve health centres. The Minister was particularly interested in these sub-projects and during the visit received a presentation by project manager Anna Finnes and a tour and presentation of Liljeholmen University Health Centre by Sandra af Winklerfelt Hammarberg, head of operations.