Recommendations for the US National Occupational Research Agenda: Research on cancer survivorship and musculoskeletal disorders and work disability

Occupational health and safety focuses on health problems in the working population. Disability is a significant problem that results in both functional and financial consequences to the worker and society. A problem becoming more evident in the workplace is cancer. As technological advances improve in the early recognition and treatment of cancer and our working population ages, the number of survivors who face challenges returning to work and maximizing productivity while at work will increase. Research is needed to identify the barriers that affect cancer survivors at work and evaluate innovative interventions to assist these workers in both their return to work and long term success at work. Musculoskeletal disorders continue to be a leading cause of work disability in the US. Limited function, pain, lost work time, emotional distress and financial burden are many of the problems associated with musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders. We presented these areas of research needs for the coming decade at the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) town hall meeting. The following is our testimony given on December 5, 2005 in College Park, Maryland.