Arthritis, work and wellbeing: a mixed methods study with policy recommendations

This project will develop guidance for employers and policymakers on how they can support improved wellbeing among working-age people diagnosed with arthritis. It is funded in partnership with Versus Arthritis as part of our Oliver Bird Fund.

Why this project is important

More than one-in-ten working-aged people have arthritis or similar conditions. The research team’s previous Nuffield funded research showed that people with arthritis are more likely to be out of work and earn less than comparable people without arthritis, more so for certain groups, including women and people without a degree. There is a lack of guidance for employers and policymakers on which groups of people with arthritis should be the target of policy interventions and the types of interventions which would best enable those people to fully engage in the labour market.  

Building upon their previous work, the research team will conduct a mixed methods study with three objectives:  

• Exploring how stopping work or reducing working hours affects the health, quality of life, and wellbeing of people with arthritis.
• Determining which groups have the poorest outcomes from such changes. 
• Establishing what kind of policy interventions are most likely to help. 

Approach

The research will be completed in three stages: 

1. To assess whether, and if so how, an arthritis diagnosis affects people’s wellbeing trajectories compared to individuals not diagnosed with arthritis; to what extent these differences can be explained by reductions in labour market participation or hours worked; the role of psychosocial factors in mediating the relationship between labour market outcomes and wellbeing; and how people’s characteristics – including gender, age, and ethnicity – influence the relationship between arthritis, work, and wellbeing.  

2. Interviews with people living with arthritis, focusing on the impact on their working lives, the reasons behind their labour market decisions, the impact of these decisions on their wellbeing, and what work-related support they would find beneficial.  

3. Production of a set of policy recommendations and implementation tools.  

Outcomes

The team will collaborate with a wide range of partners to share their recommendations and tools with policy makers and employers.