Elisabeth Björk Brämberg

Elisabeth Björk Brämberg

Principal Researcher | Docent
Telephone: +46852487412
Mobile phone: +46760628194
Visiting address: ,
Postal address: C6 Institutet för miljömedicin, C6 IIR Kwak, 171 77 Stockholm
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About me

  • Occupational medicine, mixed methods, common mental disorder, rehabilitation,
    return to work


    I'm docent/associate professor in occupational medicine, research group
    leader and currently hold a senior researcher position at the unit of
    intervention- and impelmentation research for worker health.
    2008 PhD in caring science.
    1998 Reg Nurse
    2001 Postgraduate diploma in specialist nursing, district nursing
    2008 PhD in Caring Science

Research

  • I'm a research group leader at KI, and the overall objective for my research
    group is to contribute to the development and evaluation of evidence based
    methods in the field of prevention of sickness absence and rehabilitation of
    persons on sick leave due to common mental disorders and back/neck pain, i.e.
    the two main areas dominating registered sickness absence. In addition, I've
    broad knowledge in qualitative methods and in identifying ethical issues that
    might arise when using new interventions within health care settings.
    I'm the PI of the project Effects on sick leave of a problem-solving
    intervention involving employees at risk of developing common mental
    disorders and their managers (PRIME). We will test a workplace intervention
    targeting first line managers. The aims are to 1) evaluate the problem
    solving intervention’s effect on sickness absence among employees at
    high-risk for future sickness absence due to common mental disorders

  • 2)
    evaluate whether and to what extent it was possible to adhere to the
    intervention’s protocol, the relationship between the intervention’s key
    elements and the effect outcome, and to identify the facilitators and
    barriers to the intervention among supervisors and employees, 3) explore the
    supervisor’s organizational resources and the employee’s working/private
    life-balance and the impact on the effect outcome. The study will be
    conducted as a randomized controlled trial in private sector companies.
    Funded by AFA Insurance. The project starts during the autumn 2020 and
    runs until end of 2024.

     


  • I’m the PI of the project A problem solving based intervention as an
    intervention in primary health care for facilitating return-to-work among
    people suffering from common mental disorders – a cluster-randomized trial
    (PROSA). Problem solving therapy involving the workplace is an evidence-based
    intervention with promising effects on return-to-work among persons with
    common mental disorders. A key element is cooperation between the person on
    sick leave, his/her employer and health care professionals. The aim is to
    evaluate the effects of problem solving therapy in the Swedish primary health
    care system in an employed population on sick leave due to common mental
    disorders. In addition, we will conduct a systematic identification of
    ethical aspects from the perspectives of different stakeholders concerning a
    work-focused problem solving intervention and economic evaluation of a
    work-focused problem solving intervention, compared to care as usual.
    The project is conducted by a multidisciplinary research group with
    researchers from Karolinska Institutet, University of Gothenburg, University
    of Linköping and University of Groeningen, the Netherlands.
    I’m the project leader for Facilitators and barriers to coordination of
    return to work, and ethical issues which raises from such coordination among
    employees on sick leave due to common mental disorders. Qualitative design. A
    multidisciplinary research group with researchers from Karolinska Institutet,
    university of Uppsala and University of Linköping conduct the project, with
    funding from AFA Insurance.
    Together with researchers at the unit, I’ve performed evaluations of the
    national rehabilitation guarantee. In these, we have explored the effects of
    the guarantee on sick leave, how the guarantee has been implemented
    nationwide in Sweden and to what extent workplace interventions are
    implemented and used.

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • Work-directed interventions in primary care among employees on sickness absence due to common mental disorders: A feasibility study exploring what works, for whom, and under which circumstances.
    Swedish Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare
    1 January 2024 - 31 December 2026
  • The way out of sick leave: are integrated work-focused interventions effective for the treatment of stress-related illness?
    Swedish Research Council for Health, Working life and Welfare
    1 January 2024 - 31 December 2026
  • Protective factors and risk factors for registered sick leave among employees with common mental disorders
    Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research
    1 January 2020 - 31 December 2020
  • Effects on sick leave of a problem-solving intervention involving employees at risk of developing common mental disorders and their managers
    AFA Försäkring
    1 January 2020 - 31 December 2024
  • A problem-solving intervention in primary health care: Is the intervention cost-effective and compatible with ethical values?
    Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research
    1 January 2019 - 31 December 2023
  • Problem solving therapy as an intervention in primary health care for facilitating return-to-work among people suffering from common mental disorders - a cluster-randomized trial
    Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research
    1 January 2018 - 31 December 2023
  • Facilitators of, barriers to and ethical aspects of coordination of return to work
    AFA Försäkring
    1 January 2017 - 31 December 2019

Employments

  • Principal Researcher, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2022-

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Karolinska Institutet, 2020

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