Determining Unmet Needs Among Workers’ Compensation Stakeholders to Prevent Work Disability in the State of Vermont

Purpose

Vermont has high rates of young people receiving federal disability benefits leading to substantial gaps in the workforce. The purpose of this project was to determine the unmet needs of interested parties in the workers’ compensation (WC) process.

Methods

A type of focus group, experience groups, was used to elicit key parties’ experiences in the WC system. Facilitators used open-ended prompts to encourage discussion among participants about their experience with the WC system. Data were analyzed using thematic coding procedures to identify common motifs.

Results

Common themes emerged including challenges in navigating the WC system, lack of communication among stakeholders, and providing and receiving appropriate health care to facilitate RTW.

Conclusions

Understanding unmet needs of interested parties in the WC process allows for the creation of targeted, high-value, early intervention strategies to reduce long-term work disability.