Introduction Injured workers with work-related permanent impairments—who account for roughly 10% of all injured workers—face elevated risks of reinjury and return-to-work (RTW) interruption related to health, disability, and workplace factors. Nearly half of United States workers have access to workplace wellness programs (WWPs), which hold potential to improve health and employment outcomes, yet only 58% of workers with access choose to participate. Equitable access for workers with permanent impairments is crucial, but interest levels and barriers are unknown.

Objectives To assess interest in WWP participation among injured workers who have RTW with a permanent impairment; to assess associations with sociodemographics, health status, and workplace factors; and to describe self-reported participation barriers and reasons for expressing lack of interest.

Methods Workers who had RTW after a work-related injury involving permanent impairment were interviewed about a year after workers’ compensation claim closure. Workers were queried regarding interest in potential WWP participation; if they expressed no interest, they were asked, ‘Why is that?’ Qualitative content analysis methods were used to inductively code open-ended responses.

Results Of 560 respondents, 51.4% expressed interest in WWP participation, and 48.6% were not interested. Expressing interest was significantly associated with more adverse: health status, work function, pain, perceived reinjury risk, job security, missed work days, and earnings. Workers expressing interest were less likely to have health insurance, and more likely to have certain chronic health conditions. Among those not interested (N=272), reasons included: not needed (21.0%), have own fitness/wellness programs (18.38%), wouldn’t be helpful (6.25%). Barriers included: too busy, commute, work schedules, age/health/injury status, privacy. Few workers (1.47%) expressed negative perceptions of WWPs.

Conclusion Most workers with permanent impairments—particularly those at higher risk of adverse health outcomes—are interested in participating in WWPs. Interest among this high-risk population might expand if participation barriers are addressed.