TY - JOUR
T1 - The Danish national return-to-work program - aims, content, and design of the process and effect evaluation
AU - Aust, B.
AU - Helverskov, T.
AU - Nielsen, M.B.D.
AU - Bjorner, J.B.
AU - Rugulies, Reiner Ernst
AU - Nielsen, K.
AU - Sørensen, Ole H.
AU - Grundtvig, G.
AU - Andersen, M.F.
AU - Hansen, J.V.
AU - Buchardt, H.L.
AU - Nielsen, L.
AU - Lund, T.L.
AU - Andersen, I.
AU - Andersen, M.H.
AU - Mortensen, O.S.
AU - Ørbæk, P.
AU - Winzor, G.
AU - Poulsen, O.M.
AU - Clausen, A.S.
AU - Heinesen, E.
AU - Ektor-Andersen, J.
AU - Bültmann, U.
PY - 2012/1/1
Y1 - 2012/1/1
N2 - The Danish national return-to-work (RTW) program aims to improve the management of municipal sickness benefit in Denmark. A study is currently ongoing to evaluate the RTW program. The purpose of this article is to describe the study protocol. The program includes 21 municipalities encompassing approximately 19 500 working-age adults on long-term sickness absence, regardless of reason for sickness absence or employment status. It consists of three core elements: (i) establishment of multidisciplinary RTW teams, (ii) introduction of standardized workability assessments and sickness absence management procedures, and (iii) a comprehensive training course for the RTW teams. The effect evaluation is based on a parallel group randomized trial and a stratified cluster-controlled trial and focuses on register-based primary outcomes - duration of sickness absence and RTW - and questionnaire-based secondary outcomes such as health and workability. The process evaluation utilizes questionnaires, interviews, and municipal data. The effect evaluation tests whether participants in the intervention have a (i) shorter duration of full-time sickness absence, (ii) longer time until recurrent long-term sickness absence, (iii) faster full RTW, (iv) more positive development in health, workability, pain, and sleep; it also tests whether the program is (v) cost-effective. The process evaluation investigates: (i) whether the expected target population is reached; (ii) if the program is implemented as intended; (iii) how the beneficiaries, the RTW teams, and the external stakeholders experience the program; and (iv) whether contextual factors influenced the implementation.
AB - The Danish national return-to-work (RTW) program aims to improve the management of municipal sickness benefit in Denmark. A study is currently ongoing to evaluate the RTW program. The purpose of this article is to describe the study protocol. The program includes 21 municipalities encompassing approximately 19 500 working-age adults on long-term sickness absence, regardless of reason for sickness absence or employment status. It consists of three core elements: (i) establishment of multidisciplinary RTW teams, (ii) introduction of standardized workability assessments and sickness absence management procedures, and (iii) a comprehensive training course for the RTW teams. The effect evaluation is based on a parallel group randomized trial and a stratified cluster-controlled trial and focuses on register-based primary outcomes - duration of sickness absence and RTW - and questionnaire-based secondary outcomes such as health and workability. The process evaluation utilizes questionnaires, interviews, and municipal data. The effect evaluation tests whether participants in the intervention have a (i) shorter duration of full-time sickness absence, (ii) longer time until recurrent long-term sickness absence, (iii) faster full RTW, (iv) more positive development in health, workability, pain, and sleep; it also tests whether the program is (v) cost-effective. The process evaluation investigates: (i) whether the expected target population is reached; (ii) if the program is implemented as intended; (iii) how the beneficiaries, the RTW teams, and the external stakeholders experience the program; and (iv) whether contextual factors influenced the implementation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84857935749&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:84857935749
SN - 0355-3140
VL - 38
SP - 120
EP - 133
JO - Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
JF - Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
IS - 2
ER -