The effectiveness of individual placement and support for people with mental illness new on social benefits: a study protocol

Abstract

BackgroundIn Switzerland, people with a severe mental illness and unable to work receive disability benefits (‘IV-pension’). Once they are granted these benefits, the chances to regain competitive employment are usually small. However, previous studies have shown that individual placement and support (IPS) supports a successful reintegration into competitive employment. This study focuses on the integration of newly appointed IV-pensioners, who have received an IV-pension for less than a year.Method/designThe present pilot project ZHEPP (Zürcher Eingliederungs-Pilot Projekt; engl.: Zurich integration pilot project) is a randomized controlled trial (RCT). The 250 participants will be randomized to either the intervention or the control group. The intervention group receives support of a job coach according to the approach of IPS. Participants in the control group do not receive IPS support. Participation takes a total of two years for each participant. Each group is interviewed every six months (T0-T4). A two-factor analysis of variance will be conducted with the two factors group (intervention versus control group) and outcome (employment yes/no). The main criterion of the two-factor analysis will be the number of competitive employment contracts in each group.DiscussionThis study will focus on the impact of IPS on new IV-pensioners and aims to identify predictors for a successful integration. Furthermore, we will examine the effect of IPS on stigma variables and recovery orientation.Trial registrationISRCTN54951166

Job Maintenance through Supported Employment PLUS: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…This item was included in the demographic questionnaire. Similar to Viering et al ( 19 ), and along with other questionnaires, we also administered the following questionnaire measures to the control and intervention group to assess the participants’ mental health, life satisfaction, and work-related attitudes and behaviors before and after the study: Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS), Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA), Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), and the AVEM-44.…”

“…Second, the duration of coaching in the present trial may be considered to be rather short compared with, for example, the EQOLISE, the ZInEP or the ZhEPP trials ( 5 , 19 , 35 ). This brevity of coaching may be a reason why we only found partial beneficial effects in our data.…”

Does “Individual Placement and Support” Satisfy the Users’ Needs?

“…The participants were recruited from three different IPS services available at PUK: (i) RCT ZHEPP 1 (7) RCT ZInEP 2 (8) and clinical SE service of PUK (IPS-PUK). In total, 125 individuals participated (ZhePP = 53, SE = 59; ZinEP = 13).…”

Long-Term Effects of the Individual Placement and Support Intervention on Employment Status: 6-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…This study is an observational follow-up of the previously published RCT (51). The Zurich Integration Pilot Project (ZhEPP, German: Zürcher Eingliederungs Pilot Projekt) was conducted between January 2011 and September 2014 in order to investigate the efficacy of the IPS approach in reintegrating pensioners with mental illness into the competitive employment market (52). The ZhEPP was a collaboration between the Psychiatric University Hospital of Zürich (PUK, Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik) and the IV authority in Zürich.…”