Vocational rehabilitation for disabled workers: reflections from the state of the art

Abstract

Occupational rehabilitation is a service from social security that, in its social dimension, aims to promote the residual labor potential of workers who have suffered work-related injuries or illnesses and those with disabilities. In its economic dimension, occupational rehabilitation reduces welfare benefit costs. Considering the relevance and limited visibility of this issue in the context of health and employment, this study presents a survey of scientific literature on vocational rehabilitation published in Brazil from 2001 to 2011. The data were collected from January to February 2012 in the databases Lilacs, Scielo, Redalyc, and Capes' Theses, resulting in 48 surveys that were analyzed and categorized according to prevalent themes. The main issues collated by the research refer to the discussion about the effectiveness of the vocational rehabilitation program, the limitations of the process of medical expertise, and the RSI/WRMD (Repetitive Strain Injuries/Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders) as an important health problem for workers.