• Cyril Bègue, Lucille Desmidt, William Bellanger, Christine Tessier-Cazeneuve, Audrey Petit, and Anne-Laure Couturier.
• Univ Angers, Département de Médecine Générale, Angers, France.
• Eur J Gen Pract. 2021 Dec 1; 27 (1): 158165158-165.

BackgroundIn France, general practitioners (GPs) may use two tools specifically designed to help employees who experience difficulties in returning to work after sick leave: the pre-return-to-work (PRW) medical consultation and therapeutic part-time (TPT) work.ObjectivesThe objective was to investigate the level of knowledge and use of these two tools by GPs in Maine-et-Loire, France.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was performed using a telephone questionnaire to evaluate the level of knowledge of GPs and the use of these two tools in patients having difficulties returning to work.ResultsAmong the 200 randomly selected GPs, 122 responded (response rate: 61%). More than half of the interviewed GPs declared they 'often' (46%) or 'always' (14%) contacted the occupational physician in these situations. Moreover, 62.2% and 32.7% believed that they had a 'vague' or 'very good' level of knowledge, and 41% and 51% declared either 'frequent' or 'regular' level of use of the PRW medical consultation, respectively. Regarding TPT work, 47% and 53% reported a 'very good' or 'vague' level of knowledge, and 41% and 51% a 'frequent' or 'regular' level of use, respectively. GPs who had a better level of knowledge of this tool reported a higher level of use (p < 0.001).ConclusionThis study shows that while the level of knowledge and use of the PRW medical consultation and TPT work is good, it is not optimal. This could be improved by organising training courses for GPs. Obstacles to their wider use could be investigated further in a qualitative study.

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