SynthesisThe International journal of social psychiatry2022
The impact of employment programs on common mental disorders: A systematic review.
Synthesis in The International journal of social psychiatry, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Assets and depression in U.S. adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2024Pooled it
- Links between Household-Level Income-Generating Agricultural Intervention and the Psychological Well-Being of Adolescent Girls in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Affected Households in Southwestern Kenya: A Qualitative Inquiry.The Journal of nutrition · 2023Trial
- Gender-specific economic interventions for women's mental health and well-being in South Asia: a systematic review.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Review
- interRAI Quality of Life for Mental Health and Addictions: Psychometric Properties and Differences Across Age, Gender, and Service Settings in Brazil.International journal of methods in psychiatric research · 2025Article
- Workplace Mental Health Status Among Academic Staff: Psychological Distress, Burnout, and Organisational Culture at a South African University.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Feasibility and acceptability of a solution-focused approach to strengthen lay counselling for common mental disorders (DIALOG+) in Pakistan: mixed methods study.BJPsych international · 2025Article
- Chronic disease patients during the armed conflict in Sudan: a cross-sectional study on mental health and quality of life.Conflict and health · 2025Article
- A qualitative process evaluation of group problem management plus for distressed Syrian refugees in Türkiye.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2025Article
- Mental health challenges among adolescents and young adults with perinatally acquired HIV: Key findings from the I'mPossible program in India.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Recent Advances on Social Determinants of Mental Health: Looking Fast Forward.The American journal of psychiatry · 2023Review
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
backgroundWhile employment programs were not created with the intent to improve common mental disorders (CMDs), they may have a positive impact on the prevalence, incidence, and severity of CMD by reducing poverty and increasing access to economic mobility.
aimTo examine and synthesize the available quantitative evidence of the impact of employment programs on outcomes of CMD.
methodsEmbase, Econlit, Global Health, MEDLINE, APA PsychINFO, and Social Policy and Practice were searched for experimental and quasi-experimental studies which investigated the impact of employment programs on primary and secondary outcomes of a CMD. A narrative synthesis according to Popay was conducted. The methodological quality of studies was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and the Newcastle-Ottawa Assessment Scale.
resultsOf the 1,327 studies retrieved, two randomized controlled trials, one retrospective cohort, one pilot study with a non-randomized experimental design, and one randomized field experiment were included in the final review. Employment programs generally included multiple components such as skills-based training, and hands-on placements. Depression and anxiety were the CMDs measured as primary or secondary outcomes within included studies. Findings regarding the impact of employment programs on CMD were mixed with two studies reporting significantly positive effects, two reporting no effects, and one reporting mixed effects. The quality among included studies was good overall with some concerns regarding internal validity.
conclusionEmployment programs may support a decrease in the prevalence, incidence, and severity of CMDs. However, there is high heterogeneity among study effects, designs, and contexts. More research is needed to gain further insight into the nature of this association and the mechanisms of impact. This review highlights the potential for employment programs and other poverty-reduction interventions to be utilized and integrated into the wider care, prevention, and treatment of common-mental disorders.
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