Trial reportPsychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)2015
A randomized clinical trial of a telephone depression intervention to reduce employee presenteeism and absenteeism.
Trial report in Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 19 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 55 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patient safety measures for virtual consultations in primary care: a systematic review.BMJ quality & safety · 2026Pooled it
- Evaluating the Efficacy of Telehealth-Based Treatments for Depression in Adults: A Rapid Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Interventions to improve return to work in depressed people.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Return-to-work coordination programmes for improving return to work in workers on sick leave.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Productivity benefits of treatment of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in Kenya.BMJ global health · 2025Trial
- A Worksite Self-management Program for Workers with Chronic Health Conditions Improves Worker Engagement and Retention, but not Workplace Function.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2022Trial
- Effect of Adding a Work-Focused Intervention to Integrated Care for Depression in the Veterans Health Administration: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2020Trial
- Improving work outcomes of dysthymia (persistent depressive disorder) in an employed population.General hospital psychiatryTrial
- Changes in Work Impairment and Associated Cost Savings Among Employees Receiving Psychotherapy: Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of occupational and environmental medicine · 2025Article
- Digital Wellness Programs in the Workplace: Meta-Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Review
- Effect of collaborative care intervention on productivity losses among people with comorbid common mental disorders and cardiovascular disease in rural Karnataka.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2023Article
- Preparing for the Next Pandemic to Protect Public Mental Health: What Have We Learned from COVID-19?The Psychiatric clinics of North America · 2022Review
- Cardiovascular Health Research in the Workplace: A Workshop Report.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2021Article
- Effects of a work-related stress model based mental health promotion program on job stress, stress reactions and coping profiles of women workers: a control groups study.BMC public health · 2020Article
- Associations between the depressive symptoms, subjective cognitive function, and presenteeism of Japanese adult workers: a cross-sectional survey study.BioPsychoSocial medicine · 2020Article
- Clinical and Cost-Effectiveness of Personalized Tele-Based Coaching for Farmers, Foresters and Gardeners to Prevent Depression: Study Protocol of an 18-Month Follow-Up Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial (TEC-A).Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Article
- [Telephone coaching for depression].Der Nervenarzt · 2017Article
- Simulations Test Impact Of Education, Employment, And Income Improvements On Minority Patients With Mental Illness.Health affairs (Project Hope) · 2017Article
- Complementary and alternative medicine use and absenteeism among individuals with chronic disease.BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issuedCorrection.2015
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThe study tested an intervention aimed at improving work functioning among middle-aged and older adults with depression and work limitations.
methodsA randomized clinical trial allocated an initial sample of 431 eligible employed adults (age ≥45) to a work-focused intervention (WFI) or usual care. Inclusion criteria were depression as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and at-work limitations indicated by a productivity loss score ≥5% on the Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ). Study sites included 19 employers and five related organizations. Telephone-based counseling provided three integrated modalities: care coordination, cognitive-behavioral therapy strategy development, and work coaching and modification. Effectiveness (change in productivity loss scores from preintervention to four months postintervention) was tested with mixed models adjusted for confounders. Secondary outcomes included change in WLQ work performance scales, self-reported absences, and depression.
resultsOf 1,227 eligible employees (7% of screened), 431 (35%) enrolled and 380 completed the study (12% attrition). At-work productivity loss improved 44% in the WFI group versus 13% in usual care (difference in change, p<.001). WFI group scores on the four WLQ scales improved 44% to 47%, significantly better than in usual care (p<.001 for each scale). Absence days declined by 53% in the WFI group versus 13% in usual care (difference in change, p<.001). Mean PHQ-9 depression symptom severity scores declined 51% for WFI versus 26% for usual care (difference in change, p<.001).
conclusionsThe WFI was more effective than usual care at four-month follow-up. Given increasing efforts to provide more patient-centered, value-based care, the WFI could be an important resource.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.