Musculoskeletal pain, depressive symptoms Musculoskeletal Diseases
Conditions
Interventions
We will apply the stepped wedge design, in which a group of participating occupational physicians recruits patients first to the control group and then starts to recruit patients to the intervention.
Sponsors
The Finnish Work Environment Fund (Finland)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Employees who seek medical advice in the occupational health service primarily due to musculoskeletal pain or depressive symptoms. Specific inclusion criteria: 1. Age 18-60 years, male and female 2. Working full-time or nearly full-time (>30 hours per week) 3. Employed in current job for at least 4 months and employment likely to continue the following 12 months 4. Musculoskeletal pain (>4 on a scale of 0-10) or depressive symptoms (>1 positive response to two screening questions on depression (Arroll et al. BMJ. 2003 Nov 15;327(7424):1144-6) 5. Functional ability is not sufficient to perform current work tasks 6. Previous sickness absence <6 weeks during preceding 3 months
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. Anticipated long absence from work during the following 12 months due to other reasons, e.g. pregnancy, studies, military service, alternation leave, absence due to other illness or its treatment (e.g. surgery, cytostatic therapy or radiation therapy) 2. Serious or acute disease requiring full sickness absence, e.g. febrile infection, active stage of inflammatory joint disease; serious mental disorder) 3. Other factors having significant effect on disability (e.g. serious conflict at the workplace, difficult personal life situation, current problem is due to a work accident, current insurance or workmen's compensation dispute, severe alcohol or drug dependency)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Sustained return to work (>4 weeks at work without a new sickness absence spell) 2. Total number of sickness absence days during 12 months following recruitment to the study | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Intensity of musculoskeletal pain (VAS 0-10) 2. Interference of work (VAS 0-10) and sleep (VAS 0-10) by the pain and depressive symptoms (PHQ-9, http://www.terveysportti.fi), inquired via internet-based questionnaires at 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after recruitment. | — |
Countries
Finland
Outcome results
None listed