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    General practitioners and sickness certification for injury in Australia

    240158_240158.pdf (427.6Kb)
    Access Status
    Open access
    Authors
    Mazza, D.
    Brijnath, Bianca
    Singh, N.
    Kosny, A.
    Ruseckaite, R.
    Collie, A.
    Date
    2015
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Mazza, D. and Brijnath, B. and Singh, N. and Kosny, A. and Ruseckaite, R. and Collie, A. 2015. General practitioners and sickness certification for injury in Australia. BMC Family Practice. 16 (100): pp. 1-9.
    Source Title
    BMC Family Practice
    DOI
    10.1186/s12875-015-0307-9
    School
    School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work
    Remarks

    This open access article is distributed under the Creative Commons license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32539
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    © 2015 Mazza et al. Background: Strong evidence supports an early return to work after injury as a way to improve recovery. In Australia, General Practitioners (GPs) see about 96 % of injured workers, making them the main gatekeepers to workers' entitlements. Most people with compensable injuries in Australia are certified as "unfit to work" by their GP, with a minority of patients certified for modified work duties. The reasons for this apparent dissonance between evidence and practice remain unexplored. Little is known about the factors that influence GP sickness certification behaviour in Australia. The aim of this study is to describe the factors influencing Australian GPs certification practice through qualitative interviews with four key stakeholders. Methods: From September to December 2012, 93 semi-structured interviews were undertaken in Melbourne, Australia. Participants included GPs, injured workers, employers and compensation agents. Data were thematically analysed. Results: Five themes describing factors influencing GP certification were identified: 1. Divergent stakeholder views about the GP's role in facilitating return to work; 2. Communication between the four stakeholder groups; 3. Conflict between the stakeholder groups; 4. Allegations of GPs and injured workers misusing the compensation system and 5. The layout and content of the sickness certificate itself. Conclusion: By exploring GP certification practice from the perspectives of four key stakeholders, this study suggests that certification is an administrative and clinical task underpinned by a host of social and systemic factors. The findings highlight opportunities such as practice guideline development and improvements to the sickness certificate itself that may be targeted to improve GP sickness certification behaviour and return to work outcomes in an Australian context.

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    • Stakeholder perspectives on the new sickness certificate in Victoria: Results from a mixed-methods qualitative study
      Brijnath, Bianca; Singh, N.; Mazza, D. (2016)
      Objective: The aim of this study was to present the views of four stakeholder groups, namely general practitioners (GP), employers (EMP), injured workers (IW) and compensation agents (CA), about the content and usability ...
    • Factors associated with sickness certification of injured workers by General Practitioners in Victoria, Australia
      Ruseckaite, R.; Collie, A.; Scheepers, M.; Brijnath, Bianca; Kosny, A.; Mazza, D. (2016)
      BACKGROUND: Work-related injuries resulting in long-term sickness certification can have serious consequences for injured workers, their families, society, compensation schemes, employers and healthcare service providers. ...
    • Trends in sickness certification of injured workers by general practitioners in Victoria, Australia
      Ruseckaite, R.; Collie, A.; Bohensky, M.; Brijnath, Bianca; Kosny, A.; Mazza, D. (2014)
      Background: General practitioners (GPs) play a critical role in facilitating injured workers return to work via their ability to certify capacity to return to employment. However, little is known about the sickness ...
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