Occupational Health, Sick Leave
Conditions
Keywords
absenteeism, rehabilitation, return to work
Brief summary
Long-term sick-listing from work has considerable impact on social function, on the families of the sick-listed persons, the companies they work for, and society as a whole. Hence, the need for documented effective vocational rehabilitation programs is pressing. Vocational rehabilitation services described in the scientific literature have been specific to one single or a specific group of medical conditions (e.g.low back pain). In contrast, most people on sick leave have several health complaints, and many of the factors influencing sick leave are shared regardless of disorder (e.g. social surroundings, workplace environment), calling for rehabilitation programs that can be employed for both musculoskeletal-, unspecific- and common mental disorders. Aim of this study is to investigate whether a group based rehabilitation program for musculoskeletal, mental or unspecific complaints can facilitate return-to-work (RTW), thereby testing two multicomponent return-to-work RTW rehabilitation programs.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALlong rehabilitation program
BEHAVIORALshort rehabilitation program
BEHAVIORALAcceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
Sponsors
St. Olavs Hospital
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* living in the counties of Trøndelag * on sick leave 2-12 months * current sick leave status of 50% - 100% * ICPC-2 (International Classification of Primary Care, Second edition) diagnosis within the L (musculoskeletal), P (psychiatric) or A (unspecific disorders) categories
Exclusion criteria
* alcohol or drug abuse * serious somatic or psychological disorders * a specific disorder requiring specialized treatment * pregnancy * currently participating in another treatment program * insufficient Norwegian speaking or writing skills to participate in group session and fill out questionnaires * scheduled for surgery within the next 6 months * serious problems with functioning in a group setting
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Total number of sickness absence days | 1 year | after enrollment in the study (i.e. after pre-screening) |
| time until full sustainable return-to-work (RTW) | 1 year | return-to-work i.e. for at least 4 weeks without relapse |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Physical activity | 1 year | — |
| physical, social and emotional functional status | 1 year | — |
| Psychological and social factors at work | 1 year | — |
| readiness for return to work | 1 year | — |
| fear avoidance beliefs | 1 year | — |
| Health related quality of life | 1 year | — |
| share of workers at work | 1 year | — |
| Sickness absence days | 3 years | — |
| sickness absence days | 5 years | — |
| psychological flexibility and acceptance | 1 year | — |
| Subjective health complaints | 1 year | Pain, depression, anxiety, and other subjective complaints |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Health economics from the societal perspective | 1 year | Cost-effectiveness, cost-utility and cost-benefit methods. |
Countries
Norway
Outcome results
None listed