Effect of the Danish return-to-work program on long-term sickness absence: results from a randomized controlled trial in three municipalities
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Danish return-to-work (RTW) program on long-term sickness absence in a randomized controlled trial in three municipalities. METHODS: The intervention group comprised 1948 participants while the control group comprised 1157 participa...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health (NOROSH)
2014-01-01
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| Series: | Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=3383
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| _version_ | 1818672199645528064 |
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| author | Otto Melchior Poulsen Birgit Aust Jakob Bue Bjorner Reiner Rugulies Jørgen V Hansen Torill Tverborgvik Glen Winzor Ole Steen Mortensen Trine Helverskov Palle Ørbæk Maj Britt D Nielsen |
| author_facet | Otto Melchior Poulsen Birgit Aust Jakob Bue Bjorner Reiner Rugulies Jørgen V Hansen Torill Tverborgvik Glen Winzor Ole Steen Mortensen Trine Helverskov Palle Ørbæk Maj Britt D Nielsen |
| author_sort | Otto Melchior Poulsen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Danish return-to-work (RTW) program on long-term sickness absence in a randomized controlled trial in three municipalities. METHODS: The intervention group comprised 1948 participants while the control group comprised 1157 participant receiving ordinary sickness benefit management (OSM). Study participants were working-age adults receiving long-term (≥8 weeks or more) benefits, included regardless of reason for sickness absence or employment status. Each beneficiary was followed-up for a maximum period of 52 weeks. Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for return to work (RTW) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: The intervention effect differed significantly between the municipalities (P=0.00005). In one municipality (M2) the intervention resulted in a statistically significant increased rate of recovery from long-term sickness absence (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.31–1.74). In the other two municipalities, the intervention did not show a statistically significant effect (HR_M1 1.12, 95% CI 0.97–1.29, and HR_M3 0.80, 95% CI 0.63–1.03, respectively). Adjustment for a series of possible confounders only marginally altered the estimated HR. CONCLUSION: The effect of the intervention differed substantially between the three municipalities, indicating that that contextual factors are of major importance for success or failure of this complex intervention. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T07:36:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7575bd7bcdd04a32b0e29c2a0aec02a7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0355-3140 1795-990X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T07:36:06Z |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Nordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health (NOROSH) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-7575bd7bcdd04a32b0e29c2a0aec02a72022-12-21T21:58:19ZengNordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health (NOROSH)Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health0355-31401795-990X2014-01-01401475610.5271/sjweh.33833383Effect of the Danish return-to-work program on long-term sickness absence: results from a randomized controlled trial in three municipalitiesOtto Melchior Poulsen0Birgit AustJakob Bue BjornerReiner RuguliesJørgen V HansenTorill TverborgvikGlen WinzorOle Steen MortensenTrine HelverskovPalle ØrbækMaj Britt D NielsenNational Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersø Parkalle 105, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Danish return-to-work (RTW) program on long-term sickness absence in a randomized controlled trial in three municipalities. METHODS: The intervention group comprised 1948 participants while the control group comprised 1157 participant receiving ordinary sickness benefit management (OSM). Study participants were working-age adults receiving long-term (≥8 weeks or more) benefits, included regardless of reason for sickness absence or employment status. Each beneficiary was followed-up for a maximum period of 52 weeks. Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for return to work (RTW) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: The intervention effect differed significantly between the municipalities (P=0.00005). In one municipality (M2) the intervention resulted in a statistically significant increased rate of recovery from long-term sickness absence (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.31–1.74). In the other two municipalities, the intervention did not show a statistically significant effect (HR_M1 1.12, 95% CI 0.97–1.29, and HR_M3 0.80, 95% CI 0.63–1.03, respectively). Adjustment for a series of possible confounders only marginally altered the estimated HR. CONCLUSION: The effect of the intervention differed substantially between the three municipalities, indicating that that contextual factors are of major importance for success or failure of this complex intervention. https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=3383 multidisciplinaryrandomized controlled trialwork resumptionlong-term sickness absenceeffect evaluationreturn-to-work programcoordinated case managementsickness absencereturn to workdenmarkintervention |
| spellingShingle | Otto Melchior Poulsen Birgit Aust Jakob Bue Bjorner Reiner Rugulies Jørgen V Hansen Torill Tverborgvik Glen Winzor Ole Steen Mortensen Trine Helverskov Palle Ørbæk Maj Britt D Nielsen Effect of the Danish return-to-work program on long-term sickness absence: results from a randomized controlled trial in three municipalities Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health multidisciplinary randomized controlled trial work resumption long-term sickness absence effect evaluation return-to-work program coordinated case management sickness absence return to work denmark intervention |
| title | Effect of the Danish return-to-work program on long-term sickness absence: results from a randomized controlled trial in three municipalities |
| title_full | Effect of the Danish return-to-work program on long-term sickness absence: results from a randomized controlled trial in three municipalities |
| title_fullStr | Effect of the Danish return-to-work program on long-term sickness absence: results from a randomized controlled trial in three municipalities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of the Danish return-to-work program on long-term sickness absence: results from a randomized controlled trial in three municipalities |
| title_short | Effect of the Danish return-to-work program on long-term sickness absence: results from a randomized controlled trial in three municipalities |
| title_sort | effect of the danish return to work program on long term sickness absence results from a randomized controlled trial in three municipalities |
| topic | multidisciplinary randomized controlled trial work resumption long-term sickness absence effect evaluation return-to-work program coordinated case management sickness absence return to work denmark intervention |
| url |
https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=3383
|
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