User perspectives on the role of local services in promoting labor market participation of people with chronic illnesses

Abstract

How do local Norwegian work, welfare, and health services (WWH services) support the labor market integration of chronically ill people? We discuss how user organization representatives evaluate the role of municipal-level service support in facilitating labor market participation of people with chronic illnesses and disabilities, and to what extent the views of user organizations are requested and included in local service development. We thus contribute to the limited research on the role of WWH services for work inclusion from the user perspective. Our analysis rests on an original web-based survey, combining qualitative and quantitative data, and a focus group discussion. Although user representatives call for strengthening of services, they also view employers’ adaptations as being more important than local services. And despite their expertise, user organizations are only included in local service development to a limited extent.