A randomized controlled trial of the efficacy of supported employment | Knowledge Translation for Employment Research Center

Authors:	Hogberg, G., Pagani, M., Sundin, O., Soares, J., Aberg-Wistedt, A., Tarnell, B., & Hallstrom, T.
Year Published	2012
Publication	Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica
Volume	125
Number	2
Pages	157-167
Publisher	Wiley-Blackwell
Background	Western Europe does not have enough evidence that supported employment is a more effective service than traditional vocational rehabilitation services. More research is needed to determine the efficacy of this approach in Switzerland, a country with highly evolved systems and rehabilitation programs.
Purpose	This study looked at the effectiveness of using supported employment (place and train) to assist individuals with mental illness with employment versus a traditional (train and place) approach.
Setting	The setting included various places of employment.
Sample	The study sample include 100 unemployed individuals with severe mental illness. All were stabilized at the time of acceptance into the study. Forty six were assigned to the supported employment group and 54 to traditional vocational rehabilitation. Data analysis was conducted on 42 individuals in the supported employment group, where 4 were lost to follow up and 51 of the traditional vocational rehabilitation group, where 3 were lost to follow up. The two groups did not show any differences in clinical measures or demographics at intake.
Data Collection	Participants went through a two week intake assessment prior to being randomly assigned to one of the two groups. Afterwards participants were followed for a 24 month study period. Random effects logistic regression was used to assess overall differences between the two groups in month by month employment rates during this time.
Control	The most viable locally available traditional vocational program was the control condition.
Findings	Approximately, 59% of the supported employment group went to work. At the conclusion of the study 46% remained employed. This is compared to only 26% of the group that received traditional vocational rehabilitation services. At the end of the study only 17% were still employed. The supported employment group was also employed for a longer length of time than the traditional VR group at 24.5 weeks versus ten weeks.
Conclusions	In Switzerland, supported employment is more effective than traditional vocational rehabilitation programs in assisting individuals with mental illness with competitive employment.
URL	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22077907
Disabilities	Emotional disturbance
Populations	Male & Female
Outcomes	Employment acquisition \| Wages \| Other
NIDILRR Funded	No
Research Design	Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs)
Peer Reviewed	Yes

Year Published

2012

Publication

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica

Volume

125

Number

2

Pages

157-167

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Background

Western Europe does not have enough evidence that supported employment is a more effective service than traditional vocational rehabilitation services. More research is needed to determine the efficacy of this approach in Switzerland, a country with highly evolved systems and rehabilitation programs.

Purpose

This study looked at the effectiveness of using supported employment (place and train) to assist individuals with mental illness with employment versus a traditional (train and place) approach.

Setting

The setting included various places of employment.

Sample

The study sample include 100 unemployed individuals with severe mental illness. All were stabilized at the time of acceptance into the study. Forty six were assigned to the supported employment group and 54 to traditional vocational rehabilitation. Data analysis was conducted on 42 individuals in the supported employment group, where 4 were lost to follow up and 51 of the traditional vocational rehabilitation group, where 3 were lost to follow up. The two groups did not show any differences in clinical measures or demographics at intake.

Data Collection

Participants went through a two week intake assessment prior to being randomly assigned to one of the two groups. Afterwards participants were followed for a 24 month study period. Random effects logistic regression was used to assess overall differences between the two groups in month by month employment rates during this time.

Control

The most viable locally available traditional vocational program was the control condition.

Findings

Approximately, 59% of the supported employment group went to work. At the conclusion of the study 46% remained employed. This is compared to only 26% of the group that received traditional vocational rehabilitation services. At the end of the study only 17% were still employed. The supported employment group was also employed for a longer length of time than the traditional VR group at 24.5 weeks versus ten weeks.

Conclusions

In Switzerland, supported employment is more effective than traditional vocational rehabilitation programs in assisting individuals with mental illness with competitive employment.

URL

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22077907

Disabilities

Emotional disturbance

Populations

Male & Female

Outcomes

Employment acquisition | Wages | Other

NIDILRR Funded

No

Research Design

Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs)

Peer Reviewed

Yes