Health loss-related grief among sick-listed employees: development and validation of the health impairment grief scale
This study identifies health loss-related grief as a distinct psychological phenomenon among sick-listed employees. The association between health loss-related grief and pre-job loss grief suggests that employees may face interconnected emotional challenges during return-to-work. The HIGS provides rehabilitation professionals with a valid tool to identify grief reactions in return-to-work assessments, enabling recognition of employees who may require support that addresses both health-related and anticipated work-related losses.
Authors
- PAUL A. BOELEN
- Inge L. Hulshof (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2218-9513)
- Geert Smid
- Laura S. van Os
- Janske H W van Eersel
Institutions
- University of Humanistic Studies (NL)
- Utrecht University (NL)
- Tilburg University (NL)
- The Open University of Japan (JP)
- Arq Psychotrauma Expert Group (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Disability and Rehabilitation
- Published
- 2026-02-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2026.2624530
- Primary Topic
- Workplace Health and Well-being
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00