Trial reportBMJ open2017
Return-to-work intervention versus usual care for sick-listed employees: health-economic investment appraisal alongside a cluster randomised trial.
Trial report in BMJ open, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 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
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Cost-effectiveness of Internet Interventions Compared With Treatment as Usual for People With Mental Disorders: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Shared decision-making interventions for people with mental health conditions.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- A multicenter trial-based economic evaluation of a mobile health intervention for individuals with chronic non-specific low back pain: randomized controlled trial protocol.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Article
- Impact of Digital Interventions in Occupational Health Care: A Systematic Review.Mayo Clinic proceedings. Digital health · 2025Review
- Assessing the Effectiveness of STAPP@Work, a Self-Management Mobile App, in Reducing Work Stress and Preventing Burnout: Single-Case Experimental Design Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Design and development of a digital intervention for workplace stress and mental health (EMPOWER).Internet interventions · 2023Article
- Using intervention mapping to develop evidence-based toolkits that support workers on long-term sick leave and their managers.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Evidence base of economic evaluations of workplace-based interventions reducing occupational sitting time: an integrative review.BMJ open · 2022Review
- Interventions to improve social circumstances of people with mental health conditions: a rapid evidence synthesis.BMC psychiatry · 2022Review
- eHealth interventions to facilitate work participation: a scoping review.JBI evidence synthesis · 2021Article
- Stakeholders' Role and Actions in the Return-to-Work Process of Workers on Sick-Leave Due to Common Mental Disorders: A Scoping Review.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2020Article
- A European Research Agenda for Somatic Symptom Disorders, Bodily Distress Disorders, and Functional Disorders: Results of an Estimate-Talk-Estimate Delphi Expert Study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2018Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate the health-economic costs and benefits of a guided eHealth intervention (E-health module embedded in Collaborative Occupational healthcare (ECO)) encouraging sick-listed employees to a faster return to work.
designA two-armed cluster randomised trial with occupational physicians (OPs) (n=62), clustered and randomised by region into an experimental and a control group, to conduct a health-economic investment appraisal. Online self-reported data were collected from employees at baseline, after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months.
settingOccupational health care in the Netherlands.
participantsEmployees from small-sized and medium-sized companies (≥18 years), sick-listed between 4 and 26 weeks with (symptoms of) common mental disorders visiting their OP.
interventionsIn the intervention group, employees (N=131) received an eHealth module aimed at changing cognitions regarding return to work, while OPs were supported by a decision aid for treatment and referral options. Employees in the control condition (N=89) received usual sickness guidance. OUTCOMES MEASURES: Net benefits and return on investment based on absenteeism, presenteeism, health care use and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained.
resultsFrom the employer's perspective, the incremental net benefits were €3187 per employee over a single year, representing a return of investment of €11 per invested Euro, with a break-even point at 6 months. The economic case was also favourable from the employee's perspective, partly because of QALY health gains. The intervention was costing €234 per employee from a health service financier's perspective. The incremental net benefits from a social perspective were €4210. This amount dropped to €3559 in the sensitivity analysis trimming the 5% highest costs.
conclusionsThe data suggest that the ECO intervention offers good value for money for virtually all stakeholders involved, because initial investments were more than recouped within a single year. The sometimes wide 95% CIs suggest that the costs and benefits are not always very precise estimates and real benefits could vary considerably.
trial registrationNTR2108; Results.
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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.