Abstract
Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore and analyze accounts of social interactions and relationships with family, workmates, and friends supplied by persons with experience of sickness absence due to back, neck, or shoulder diagnoses. The focus was on experiences that seemed to involve positive and negative self-evaluative aspects, and therefore may be important to the self-conception and self-esteem of the absentee, and possibly to return to work.
Participants: The interviewees were women and men between 25 to 34 years of age who had been sickness certified due to back, neck, or shoulder diagnosis.
Methods: A descriptive and explorative method was used to analyze data from five focus-group interviews.
Results: The importance of being supported and encouraged by family members, and the importance of feeling needed at work as well as being part of a social context were aspects stressed by the respondents.
Conclusions: Our results indicate that these interactions and relations are important to the absentees' self-esteem, and that this should be taken into account when discussing rehabilitation efforts.