Background/Purpose: Work and education significantly impact health and quality of life in people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs). However, patients often experience internal and external barriers to work, like pain and fatigue, inability to carry out duties due to physical limitations, needing more breaks and longer rests and sometimes specific spatial obstacles at work. Preventive interventions are required to support participation in work, avoid presenteeism and absenteeism, and work instability and disability. During the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home had both advantages (virtual access) and disadvantages (unfavorable working conditions at home) for patients with RMDs. With this project, we developed the concept for an easily accessible, multi-faceted online peer-coaching workshop focusing on health promotion and ergonomic issues in the workplace for people with RMDs and evaluated its delivery and feasibility.

Methods: The study included a needs assessment, the development of an online peer-coaching workshop together with patient research partners based on the existing evidence on preventive and rehabilitative workplace interventions, and a pilot phase with a formative process evaluation. We trained interested people with RMDs as coaches to support other patients across Europe in their work or education. The underlying concept was to view people with RMDs as experts and help them look after their health while working. The central elements of the workshop were sharing experiences and knowledge in addition to self-reflection. We used descriptive statistics and a modified form of ‘meaning condensation’ to analyze the qualitative data.

Results: The virtual workshop took place in two parts in April and May 2021. Six people with RMDs from patient organizations in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Portugal and Spain were educated as multipliers. Essential elements of the virtual peer coaching workshop were (1) the identification and prioritization of crucial problematic work activities, (2) the joint development of possible solutions with the workshop participants, and (3) the practical implementation and evaluation of these solutions in the second part of the workshop. The participants highlighted the importance of providing individual active learning, meaningful discussion, practice, and reflection opportunities. They were satisfied with the virtual workshop’s delivery mode and have already started to offer it within the national patient organizations.

Conclusion: Empowered2work was an essential step for addressing work participation in people with RMDs. Participants in the pilot project felt empowered as they gained better knowledge and practical ideas for supporting their health in the workplace. In the future, those multipliers will pass on their knowledge and experience to other people in daily work, at conferences and meetings of international and national patient organizations.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/empowered2work-development-and-delivery-of-a-multi-faceted-peer-coaching-workshop-focusing-on-health-promotion-and-ergonomic-issues-in-the-workplace/