Trial reportBMC public health2017
A participatory supportive return to work program for workers without an employment contract, sick-listed due to a common mental disorder: an economic evaluation alongside a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC public health, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 3 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
10 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of work-directed interventions on return-to-work in people on sick-leave for to common mental disorders-a systematic review.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2024Pooled it
- Social interventions to support people with disability: A systematic review of economic evaluation studies.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Evidence for the Cost-Effectiveness of Return-to-Work Interventions for Mental Illness Related Sickness Absences: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2021Pooled it
- Predictors of return to work for people on sick leave with depression, anxiety and stress: secondary analysis from a randomized controlled trial.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Cost-Consequence Analysis of the Return to Work (RTW) Program for Workers with Disabilities in Indonesia: Health, Economic and Productivity Outcomes.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2026Article
- A cost-utility analysis for return-to-work interventions comparing alternative methods for handling missing health-related quality of life data.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2025Article
- Development and evaluation of a strength-based method to promote employment of work-disability benefit recipients with multiple problems: a feasibility study.BMC public health · 2020Article
- Temporary Disability Pension, RTW-Intentions, and RTW-Behavior: Expectations and Experiences of Disability Pensioners over 17 Months.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Article
- Predicting the Effectiveness of Work-Focused CBT for Common Mental Disorders: The Influence of Baseline Self-Efficacy, Depression and Anxiety.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMental disorders are associated with high costs for productivity loss, sickness absence and unemployment. A participatory supportive return to work (RTW) program was developed in order to improve RTW among workers without an employment contract, sick-listed due to a common mental disorder. The program contained a participatory approach, integrated care and direct placement in a competitive job. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of this new program, compared to usual care. In addition, its return on investment was evaluated.
methodsAn economic evaluation was conducted alongside a 12-month randomized controlled trial. A total of 186 participants was randomly allocated to the new program (n = 94) or to usual care (n = 92). Effect measures were the duration until sustainable RTW in competitive employment and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained. Costs included intervention costs, medical costs and absenteeism costs. Registered data of the Dutch Social Security Agency were used to assess the duration until sustainable RTW, intervention costs and absenteeism costs. QALYs and medical costs were assessed using three- or six-monthly questionnaires. Missing data were imputed using multiple imputations. Cost-effectiveness analysis and cost-utility analysis were conducted from the societal perspective. A return on investment analysis was conducted from the social insurer's perspective. Various sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the results.
resultsThe new program had no significant effect on the duration until sustainable RTW and QALYs gained. Intervention costs and medical costs were significantly higher in the intervention group. From the societal perspective, the maximum probability of cost-effectiveness for duration until sustainable RTW was 0.64 at a willingness to pay of about €10 000/day, and 0.27 for QALYs gained, regardless of the willingness to pay. From the social insurer's perspective, the probability of financial return was 0.18.
conclusionsFrom the societal perspective, the new program was neither cost-effective in improving sustainable RTW nor in gaining QALYs. From the social insurer's perspective, the program did not result in a positive financial return. Therefore, the present study provided no evidence to support its implementation.
trial registrationThe trial was listed at the Dutch Trial Register (NTR) under NTR3563 on August 7, 2012.
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.