Summary- Work-related musculoskeletal disorders: from research to practice. What can be learnt

This report summarises the three components that constituted the research project ‘Review of research, policy and practice on prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)’. The first component was an exploratory review that examined the reasons for the continuing high prevalence of MSDs in the European Union (EU) and identified gaps in prevention practice. The second was an extensive policy analysis, across EU countries and beyond, to gain a better understanding of the conditions under which strategies, policies and actions to address MSDs are most effective. The third component was field research carried out in six EU Member States to explore, through focus groups, what was happening at workplace level and, through interviews, the roles of various strategies and policies in MSD prevention. The project was carried out because, despite many different strategies, campaigns and policy initiatives over the past 30 years, prevalence rates of MSDs across the EU are not reducing (although there have been relatively minor decreases in some countries). The current project focuses on: § improving knowledge on new and emerging risks and trends in relation to factors that contribute to work-related MSDs and identifying the related challenges; § identifying gaps in current strategies for tackling work-related MSDs, at both policy and workplace levels; § investigating the effectiveness and quality of workplace interventions and risk assessment approaches; § identifying new approaches for more effective MSD prevention. Methods Research questions were developed for the exploratory literature review and, from an initial scan of theliterature, hypotheses were developed in relation to the continuing high prevalence of MSDs. Further literature identified through systematic searches was then examined to corroborate or refute each hypothesis. Data gaps were also identified as part of the review. The policy analysis took a desk-based approach, reviewing a total of 142 initiatives shared by National Focal Points from across the EU together and a small number from further afield. From these initiatives, 25 were chosen for further analysis. Building on this analysis, six EU countries were then chosen for indepth analyses of their policies and strategies; these countries were Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom 1 . The fieldwork had two aims. The first was to investigate what was happening in practice in each of the six countries selected for the policy review. This was explored through a series of focus groups with practitioners in each of the selected countries. The second aim was to identify success factors for and obstacles to policy implementation by interviewing policy developers and policy implementers. An overarching analysis was carried out by synthesising the findings from the three project components to identify gaps in practice and policy actions. A validation workshop was then held with experts on MSDs, at which summaries of the outputs of the project were shared and discussed. The exploratory literature review One of the aims of the exploratory literature review was to improve our understanding of why the MSD prevalence rate continues to be high in the EU. Factors identified included the use of risk assessment processes with a disconnection between known MSDs risk factors and the range of factors evaluated.