Effectiveness of improved assessment and recording of work related primary care visits combined with enhanced follow-up in reducing work disability: a cluster randomized controlled trial

• Register: ISRCTN
• Last refreshed on: 6 April 2020
• Main ID: ISRCTN45728263
• Date of registration: 18/04/2016
• Prospective Registration: No
• Primary sponsor: University of Tampere
• Public title: Effectiveness of improved assessment and recording of work related primary care visits combined with enhanced follow-up in reducing work disability: a cluster randomized controlled trial
• Scientific title: Does an intervention to increase assessment and recording of work related primary care visits' relation to work in occupational health services combined with enhanced follow-up reduce rates of work disability pensions as measured by disability pensions and sickness absences and disability pensions when compared with no intervention after two years? A cluster randomized controlled trial
• Date of first enrolment: 14/04/2016
• Target sample size: 55000
• Recruitment status: Completed
• URL: http://isrctn.com/ISRCTN45728263
• Study type: Interventional
• Study design: Pragmatic cluster randomised controlled intervention trial. The trial will be conducted at 22 occupational health units (multisite). (Other)
• Phase: Not Applicable

Countries of recruitment

Finland

Contacts

• Name: Jukka Uitti

Key inclusion & exclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: All employees of the client organisations of the selected intervention arm occupational health care units will be eligible
Exclusion criteria: Does not meet inclusion criteria

Age minimum:
Age maximum:
Gender: Both

Health Condition(s) or Problem(s) studied

Work ability/work disability
Not Applicable

Intervention(s)

Intervention arm: Doctors and nurses working in occupational health services are trained to improve their assessment and recording of work relatedness or potential impact on work ability of each primary care visit. As a patient visits a doctor with a complaint, the doctor assesses the patient’s diagnosis with regard to work-relatedness or impact on work ability. This assessment is recorded on an electronic patient register. Once weekly an OH nurse accesses all client visits within the electronic register, which are tagged in the system as being work related or which have been tagged as potentially impacting on work ability and ensures that relevant procedures for addressing work ability are initiated. These procedures are case-specific, but may involve some of the following: a workplace assessment; rehabilitation; meetings with employers, occupational health professionals and the employee; referral to specialists (occupational health psychologists, occupational health physiotherapists, others).

Control: Usual care. Occupational health doctors may assess and record work relatedness and impact on work ability. No effort is made for special follow up by occupational nurses, cases are dealt with within usual team meetings.

Primary Outcome(s)

Reduction in medium term (3-9 days) sickness absences from the workplace after the intervention up to two years of follow up as measured by OHS records

Secondary Outcome(s)

1. Reduction in long-term (9+ days) sickness absences from the workplace after the intervention until two years of follow up as measured by OHS records
2. Reduction in short term (up to three days) sickness absences from the workplace during the following two years from the start of the intervention as measured by self report or OHS report of sickness absence
3. Reduction of sickness absences of 60 days and over after the intervention until two years of follow up as measured by OHS records
4. Reduction of any form of work disability pensions as measured by an employee registering as receiving work disability pension on the central pensions register up to two years from the intervention

Secondary ID(s)

N/A

Source(s) of Monetary Support

European Social Fund

Ethics review

Status:
Approval date:
Contact:

Pirkanmaa Hospital District review board, 10/03/2016, ref: R16041

Results

• Results available: Yes
• Date Completed: 30/06/2018