Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38039327›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in psychology2023

Examination of the knowledge gap of return-to-work outcomes in routine outpatient treatment for common mental disorders: a systematic review.

Jakob Lundqvist, Martin Brattmyr, Martin Schevik Lindberg, Audun Havnen, Stian Solem, Odin Hjemdal

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in psychology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
2.2field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Responsiveness of European countries to the population mental health needs: A cross-national comparison study.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Jakob LundqvistDepartment of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Martin BrattmyrDepartment of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Martin Schevik LindbergDepartment of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Audun HavnenDepartment of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Stian SolemDepartment of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Odin HjemdalDepartment of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Norwegian University of Science and Technology · NO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: Little is known about the effects of routine mental health care on return-to-work (RTW) outcomes. This systematic review aimed to summarize and evaluate the effects of clinical representative psychotherapy on RTW among patients with a common mental disorder (CMD), treated within public mental health care. Method: A systematic search was conducted using PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, and SveMED+. Primary outcomes were RTW, sick leave status, or self-reported work functioning. Studies limited to specific treatments and/or specific patient groups were excluded. Results: Out of 1,422 records, only one article met the preregistered inclusion criteria. After broadening of criteria, a total of nine studies were included. Six were randomized controlled trials (RCT), two were register-based studies, and one was a quasi-experimental study. Descriptions of treatment duration and intensity of usual care were rarely specified but ranged from a few sessions to 3 years of psychotherapy. In the RCTs, two studies favored the intervention, one favored routine care, and three found no difference between conditions. Choice of outcomes differed greatly and included RTW rates (full or partial), number of days until RTW, change in sick leave status, and net days/months of work absence. Time points for outcome assessment also varied greatly from 3 months to 5 years after treatment. Conclusion: There is inconclusive evidence to establish to what extent routine mental healthcare is associated with improved RTW outcomes for patients with CMD. There is a need for more and better clinical trials and naturalistic studies detailing the content of routine treatment and its effect on RTW. Systematic review registration: This study was pre-registered at PROSPERO (CRD42022304967), https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022304967.

Indexed as

absenteeismanxietycommon mental disordersdepressionsick leavetreatment as usual

Identifiers

PMID38039327
PMCPMC10655137
OpenAlexW4388293404

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.