Background: Mental health issues in the workplace can have adverse effects on productivity. Among the various mental disorders, depression is the most observed problem. That being stated, the return to work (RTW) rates for depressive workers are lower than other disabling conditions. The present study was due to the absence of guidelines regarding RTW assessments for depressive workers in occupational medicine.

Objective: To determine the necessary components for evaluating RTW in depressive workers.

Materials and Methods: Twenty-two occupational medicine and psychiatry experts deployed a modified Delphi study. The study was conducted in four steps, expert selection, comprehensive literature review, and administration of a two-round questionnaire to assess the level of agreement among participants. A second-round questionnaire was used to determine the degree of consensus.

Results: Twenty experts responded to the first-round questionnaire, agreed on 15 components, and suggested four additional components. In the second-round questionnaire, 14 components consisted of distress, depress mood, anxiety, suicidal ideation, executive function, attention, social awareness, learning and memory, language, health-risk behavior, self-efficacy, psychiatric medication, communication with supervisor, and job stress. Twenty tools met the consensus criteria. A depressed mood and suicidal ideation were the most consensus components from experts.

Conclusion: The assessment of RTW in workers with depression requires considering 14 components; however, developing guidelines and appropriate tools for evaluating these components requires further investigation and study.

Received 25 January 2024 | Revised 22 March 2024 | Accepted 27 March 2024

DOI:10.35755/jmedassocthai.2024.5.13980