Affiliations: [a] Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Cyprus Institute of Biomedical Sciences (CIBS), Nicosia, Cyprus | [b] Department of Occupational Health, Bank of Cyprus Oncology Center, Nicosia, Cyprus
| [c] Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology (EOME), Boston, MA, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Elpidoforos S. Soteriades, MD, SM, ScD, Cyprus Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Athienitis Strovolos Park, 2A Elia Venezi St., 2nd Floor, Office 206 2042 Strovolos, Nicosia, Cyprus. Tel.: +357 99410677; Fax: +357 22 499420; E-mail: esoteria@hsph.harvard.edu.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Workplace modified duty programs may provide reasonable accommodations to employees who have partial temporary job disability and could work on duty accommodations until they fully recover. However, little is known about the implementation barriers and effectiveness of such programs. OBJECTIVE: This study is aimed at evaluating the implementation of a modified duty program for employees in an oncology center. METHODS: A modified duty program for employees working at the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Center, a non profit organization with 200 employees located in the Republic of Cyprus was evaluated based on the health records of the occupational medicine department. RESULTS: Employees’ participation in the program was 3%. A total of 12 employees participated (6 each year). The participants were all women and the mean participation period was 21.6 days (range 10 – 65 days). The two most frequent reasons for a modified duty assignment were pregnancy and back pain. Employees were assigned either on limited duties or on a combination of limited duties and reduced work hours. Employees reported being very satisfied with their participation based on a follow-up narrative oral assessment. CONCLUSION: The small participation rate does not allow for advanced statistical analyses. Further studies from larger organizations are urgently needed to evaluate the effectiveness of modified duty programs. The development of a legal framework for such modified duty programs in Cyprus as well as internationally may promote their implementation in order to facilitate the effective management of temporary partial job disability for the benefit of both employees and businesses.
