Healthy Workplaces, Employment and Chronic Conditions in Europe: Answering the Hidden Emergency with Innovative Strategies

Dear Colleagues,

We are organizing a Special Issue in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health on the development of innovative approaches to promote the professional integration and reintegration of people with chronic diseases and improve their employability.

Individuals with chronic diseases, defined by WHO as diseases of long duration and generally slow progression that are not passed from person to person, often experience work-related problems, such as unemployment, absenteeism, reduced productivity and stigmatization in the workplace, leading to negative consequences at individual, national and European level. The rising prevalence of chronic diseases, as well as the current international economic crisis, make this issue even more problematic, requiring action in terms of innovative strategies to improve the participation of these persons in the labor market. Unfortunately, this is hindered by a lack of knowledge of which strategies are available in the different countries and their effectiveness, and a lack of clarity regarding the employment-related needs of these individuals, leading to gaps between what is offered and what is needed.

The question why people with chronic diseases experience difficulties is crucial to plan strategies and interventions to increase their participation in the labor force. This question was addressed in studies showing that employment problems among chronically ill persons are not only impairment-related, but also connected to socio-demographic and psychological factors, attitudes and beliefs, disclosure, job demands, organizational factors and macro-economic factors. Despite the evidence on the substantial negative impact of chronic diseases on employment, the framework of employment needs of people with chronic diseases is not always clear. It is also necessary to highlight the advantages and gains for society to keep ageing workers with NCDs (non-communicable chronic diseases) into the labor sector as long as possible: Expertise is kept in the work sector, pension systems gain, families are less poor. The EU Pathways project has been analyzing European situation and is proposing strategies to overcome the hidden emergency of employment and chronic conditions. The recommendations will be useful for defining implementation strategies in the coming Joint Action Chrodis Plus.

This Special Issue is open to any subject area related to chronic diseases and employment. The listed keywords suggest just a few of the many possibilities.

Dr. Matilde Leonardi
Dr. Carla Sabariego
Prof. Anastasia Vlachou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.