The Danish national return-to-work program – aims, content, and design of the process and effect evaluation

The Danish national return-to-work program – aims, content, and design of the process and effect evaluation

The Danish national return-to-work (RTW) program aims to improve the management of municipal sickness benefit in Denmark. A study is currently ongoing to evaluate the RTW program. The purpose of this article is to describe the study protocol. The program includes 21 municipalities encompassing appro...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Birgit Aust, Trine Helverskov, Maj Britt D Nielsen, Jakob Bue Bjorner, Reiner Rugulies, Karina Nielsen, Ole Henning Sørensen, Gry Grundtvig, Malene F Andersen, Jørgen V Hansen, Helle L Buchardt, Lisbeth Nielsen, Trine L Lund, Irene Andersen, Mogens H Andersen, Aksel S Clausen, Eskil Heinesen, Ole Steen Mortensen, John Ektor-Andersen, Palle Ørbæk, Glen Winzor, Ute Bültmann, Otto Melchior Poulsen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nordic Association of Occupational Safety and Health (NOROSH) 2012-03-01
Series:Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
Subjects:
evaluation
organizational change
economic evaluation
work resumption
design
long-term sickness absence
sickness absence
return-to-work
process evaluation
rtw
effect evaluation
return to work
denmark
intervention
Online Access: https://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=3272
Description
Summary:The Danish national return-to-work (RTW) program aims to improve the management of municipal sickness benefit in Denmark. A study is currently ongoing to evaluate the RTW program. The purpose of this article is to describe the study protocol. The program includes 21 municipalities encompassing approximately 19 500 working-age adults on long-term sickness absence, regardless of reason for sickness absence or employment status. It consists of three core elements: (i) establishment of multidisciplinary RTW teams, (ii) introduction of standardized workability assessments and sickness absence management procedures, and (iii) a comprehensive training course for the RTW teams. The effect evaluation is based on a parallel group randomized trial and a stratified cluster controlled trial and focuses on register-based primary outcomes – duration of sickness absence and RTW – and questionnaire-based secondary outcomes such as health and workability. The process evaluation utilizes questionnaires, interviews, and municipal data. The effect evaluation tests whether participants in the intervention have a (i) shorter duration of full-time sickness absence, (ii) longer time until recurrent long-term sickness absence, (iii) faster full RTW, (iv) more positive development in health, workability, pain, and sleep; it also tests whether the program is cost-effective. The process evaluation investigates: (i) whether the expected target population is reached; (ii) if the program is implemented as intended; (iii) how the beneficiaries, the RTW teams, and the external stakeholders experience the program; and (iv) whether contextual factors influenced the implementation. The program has the potential to contribute markedly to lowering human and economic costs and increasing labor force supply. First results will be available in 2013. The trial registrations are ISRCTN43004323, and ISRCTN51445682.
ISSN:0355-3140
1795-990X

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