title: Is the statement that if a person is off work for 70 days the chance of ever getting back to work is 35% justified?
abstract: The Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine released a position statement which included statements about the chance of ever getting back to work if a person is off work for 20, 45 and 70 days. These statements are being repeated by government and non-government agencies in New Zealand and Australia. They have been presented with the intent to influence public policy. They are presented to general practitioners in the context of certifying people as unfit for work. The statements are based on an incorrect interpretation of the referenced study, are not justified and should be corrected.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Otago Wellington, PO Box 7343, Wellington South, New Zealand. gordon.purdie@otago.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Purdie
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D044362:Australasia; D001315:Australia; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D009520:New Zealand; D009787:Occupational Medicine; D011640:Public Policy; D062707:Return to Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012955:Societies, Medical