Association of Supported Employment With Cognitive Functioning and Employment Outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive functioning affects employment outcomes in supported employment. This study examined which cognitive parameters are associated with employment outcomes for persons with mental illnesses and discusses possible mechanisms involved. METHODS: Data stem from a randomized controlled trial conducted as part of the Zürich Impulse Program for the Sustainable Development of Mental Health Services (ZInEP). A sample of 116 patients in supported employment was recruited, coached, and followed up. Factor analysis and logistic regression were used to determine cognitive parameters associated with employment outcomes. RESULTS: Results showed that verbal learning was positively associated with better employment outcomes (any job and employment for at least three months). CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study imply that training in verbal learning should be included in supported employment programs. More generally, elaborated models are needed to explain interactions between cognitive functioning, supported employment, and employment outcomes and to enhance understanding of the interrelationships between cognitive functioning, employment outcomes, and any mediating and moderating variables.

Supported Employment for the Reintegration of Disability Pensioners with Mental Illnesses: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Work is beneficial for the recovery from mental illness. Although the approach of individual placement and support (IPS) has been shown to be effective in Europe, it has not yet been widely implemented in European health care systems. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to assess the effectiveness of IPS for disability pensioners with mental illnesses new on disability benefits in Switzerland. In the study at hand, 250 participants were randomly assigned to either the control or the intervention group. The participants in the intervention group received job coaching according to IPS during 2 years. The control group received no structured support. Both groups were interviewed at baseline and followed up every 6 months (baseline, 6, 12, 16, 18, 24 months) for 2 years. Primary outcome was to obtain a job in the competitive employment. IPS was more effective for the reintegration into the competitive employment market for disability pensioners than the control condition. Thirty-two percent of the participants of the intervention group and 12% of the control group obtained new jobs in the competitive employment. IPS is also effective for the reintegration into competitive employment of people with mental illness receiving disability pensions.

Does "Individual Placement and Support" Satisfy the Users' Needs?

This study aims to investigate clients' satisfaction with individual placement and support (IPS) at the University Hospital for Psychiatry Zurich (PUK). Furthermore, this study aims to investigate if clients feel the approach of IPS as a useful approach to fulfill their needs. One hundred twenty-five people were recruited from one of the three IPS services of PUK and were asked to complete a structured questionnaire. The following IPS services were available: (i) randomized controlled trial (RCT) ZHEPP (www.zhepp.ch), (ii) RCT ZInEP (www.zinep.ch), and (iii) us clinical supported employment service of PUK (IPS-PUK). The clients mostly indicated that IPS was generally useful and fitted their needs. Overall satisfaction of the participants with the IPS services of the PUK was very high. Furthermore, client satisfaction and symptom severity are inversely associated. In conclusion, participants of the IPS services received the support they were looking for. This means that the approach of IPS fits the needs of different patient groups and can be used without any modifications. The most important limitation is the unequal group sizes. Therefore, the obtained results need to be strengthened by future research.

Work-related discrimination and change in self-stigma among people with mental illness during supported employment.

OBJECTIVE: The relationship of work-related discrimination to the change in self-stigma and stigma stress was assessed among supported employment participants in Switzerland. METHODS: Self-stigma and the cognitive appraisal of mental illness stigma as a stressor were measured at baseline among supported employment participants (N=116). These variables and work-related discrimination in the past year were assessed one year later (N=96). RESULTS: Compared with participants who did not find employment (N=30), those who worked without experiencing discrimination (N=25) had lower levels of self-stigma and stigma stress at one year. Among those who worked and reported work-related discrimination (N=38), these measures did not decrease significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Experiencing discrimination at work may determine whether employment has positive effects in terms of self-stigma and stigma stress among individuals with mental illness. Interventions to reduce discrimination in work settings and to improve coping resources of these individuals could augment the positive effects of supported employment.

[How sustainable is supported employment? A follow-up investigation]. / Wie nachhaltig ist Supported Employment? Eine katamnestische Untersuchung.

SUBJECT: The largest European multicenter randomized controlled trial to date on the effectiveness of supported employment (EQOLISE) was conducted in six European centres until 2005. It revealed that the intervention "individual placement and support" was more effective than conventional prevocational training services. The aim of this investigation was to assess the Zurich sample (individuals with schizophrenic, schizoaffective or bipolar disorders) 24 months after termination of the EQOLISE trial in terms of working situation, income, and hospital admissions. More favorable outcomes concerning these parameters were assumed for the intervention group. METHODS: Assessment of the working situation and psychiatric hospitalizations since the end as well as the development of salaries since the start of EQOLISE. Comparisons between groups and illustration of incomes using a random coefficient model were conducted. RESULTS: 50% of the original sample could be assessed. All subjects who worked in competitive workplaces at the end of EQOLISE were met in a different situation. No differences were found concerning hospital admissions. The mean monthly income considerably increased during EQOLISE and decreased during the third year. At the time of follow-up it was approximately at the same level as the slightly increased control group. CONCLUSIONS: This investigation points at limited sustainability of supported employment among individuals with severe mental disorders in terms of maintenance of employment and income if the job coaching is not continued.

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

BACKGROUND: In 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/DESIGN: The 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. DISCUSSION: This 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 REGISTRATION: ISRCTN54951166.

'Placement budgets' for supported employment--improving competitive employment for people with mental illness: study protocol of a multicentre randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Vocational integration of people with mental illness is poor despite their willingness to work. The 'Individual Placement and Support' (IPS) model which emphasises rapid and direct job placement and continuing support to patient and employer has proven to be the most effective vocational intervention programme. Various studies have shown that every second patient with severe mental illness was able to find competitive employment within 18 months. However, the goal of taking up employment within two months was rarely achieved. Thus, we aim to test whether the new concept of limited placement budgets increases the effectiveness of IPS. METHODS/DESIGN: Six job coaches in six out-patients psychiatric clinics in the Canton of Zurich support unemployed patients of their clinic who seek competitive employment. Between June 2010 and May 2011 patients (N=100) are randomly assigned to three different placement budgets of 25h, 40h, or 55h working hours of job coaches. Support lasts two years for those who find a job. The intervention ends for those who fail to find competitive employment when the respective placement budgets run out. The primary outcome measure is the time between study inclusion and first competitive employment that lasted three months or longer. Over a period of three years interviews are carried out every six months to measure changes in motivation, stigmatization, social network and social support, quality of life, job satisfaction, financial situation, and health conditions. Cognitive and social-cognitive tests are conducted at baseline to control for confounding variables. DISCUSSION: This study will show whether the effectiveness of IPS can be increased by the new concept of limited placement budgets. It will also be examined whether competitive employment leads in the long term to an improvement of mental illness, to a transfer of the psychiatric support system to private and vocational networks, to an increase in financial independence, to a reduction of perceived and internalized stigma, and to an increase in quality of life and job satisfaction of the patient. In addition, factors connected with fast competitive employment and holding that job down in the long term are being examined (motivation, stigmatization, social and financial situation). TRIAL REGISTER: ISRCTN89670872.