"Fit for work and life": an innovative concept to improve health and work ability of employees, integrating prevention, therapy and rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVES: To set up a comprehensive health programme for employees, with needs-based allocation to preventive and rehabilitative measures; and to evaluate the effects of the programme on work ability and sick leave. DESIGN: Prospective single-group observational study. METHODS: Employees of a university hospital were invited to participate in needs-based interventions of preventive or rehabilitative character. Allocation followed screening questionnaires, anamnesis and clinical examination. The selection of a preventive or rehabilitative measure appropriate to the needs of the patient followed screening questionnaires, anamnesis and clinical examination. Preventive offers can include back training courses, water gymnastics or stress management exercises. Rehabilitative measures can include 3-6 weeks in- or outpatient rehabilitation or one week intensive outpatient rehabilitation. The main outcome parameters were work ability and sick leave duration. RESULTS: At this time of the project included 1,547 participants, who applied voluntarily to enter the programme. The mean age of participants was 44.3 years (standard deviation (SD) 10.3 years), and 72.0% were female. Needs-based allocation to a prevention (n=1,218) or a rehabilitation group (n=329) was effective, and enabled formation of 2 groups with different needs. Overall, more than half of the employees participating in the programme reported sick leave within the last 3 months. Participants in the preventive measures group reported significantly lower duration of sick leave than those in the rehabilitation group. Employees in the rehabilitation group had significantly lower work ability (Work Ability Index (WAI) 30.4 vs 36.6), but higher effects at 6-month follow-up (WAI 33.4 (standardized effect size (SES) 0.51) vs 37.9 (SES 0.17)). In the prevention group mean sick leave reduced significantly from 1.9 to 1.3 weeks (p < 0.001) during the previous 3-month period, whereas in the rehabilitation group it reduced from 2.7 to 1.5 (p < 0.001) weeks. CONCLUSION: Implementation of the comprehensive health programme was successful, using the multimodal infrastructure of a university hospital. Allocation to suitable interventions in occupational health programmes following screening, anamnesis and clinical examination is an appropriate way to meet participants' needs. The programme resulted in improved work ability and less sick leave.

[Health Condition, Health Care Utilisation and Attitude Towards Return to Work in Individuals Receiving Temporary Disability Pension]. / Gesundheitszustand, Inanspruchnahme von Gesundheitsleistungen und Einstellung zur Rückkehr ins Erwerbsleben bei zeitlich befristeten Erwerbsminderungsrentnern.

A total of 15,110 TDP, aged 30-60 years, who received a pension for the first time and independently of labour market, were sent a questionnaire at the end of their first period of approval. Questionnaire-based data were supplemented with routine information from the databases of pension insurances. Descriptive statistics were done separately for the 4 main diagnoses (mental illness, neoplasms, musculoskeletal diseases, diseases of circulatory system). Testing for group differences was performed by ANOVA or chi-square test. RESULTS: A total of 3,880 participants were included in the analyses. At the end of their first period of approval, these TDP still reported overall impaired health. While receiving pension, 36.8% of TDP with mental illness received medical rehabilitation. Employment participation benefits were granted more often to pensioners with musculoskeletal diseases (8.1%). About one-third of the participants would like to RTW. The individual work capacity and possibility of finding a matching job were rated more pessimistically. TDP with neoplasms tended to report better health condition and attitude towards RTW than the other diagnosis groups. CONCLUSION: The results show that the goal of restoring earning capacity is insufficiently realized by limiting pension duration. In the context of the complexity of health problems faced by individuals, new concepts in intervention are needed taking into account the different stakeholders involved in the social and health care system.

[Factors Influencing Access to Follow-Up Rehabilitation]. / Einflussfaktoren auf den Zugang in die Anschlussrehabilitation (AR/AHB).

PURPOSE: Identification of patient-related influencing factors on access to follow-up rehabilitation METHODS: Partially standardized, written survey of patients between the ages of 18 and 65 in 3 acute hospitals in Hanover, who were assigned to one of the following six defined indication groups on the basis of their diagnosis: (1) surgically treated bone fractures, (2) knee and hip endoprosthesis, (3) malignant disease from visceral surgery, (4) heart disease without surgical intervention, (5) heart disease with surgical intervention, and (6) stroke. In addition to personal information (such as age and gender) personal rehabilitation goals, rehabilitation motivation, disease processing, functioning, state of health, the knowledge of right to request and suffrage and the personal desire to start a follow-up rehabilitation were raised. RESULTS: Of the 1,227 patients surveyed, 42.5% received follow-up rehabilitation. The percentages between the groups of diagnoses varied widely and were lowest after conservatively treated heart disease (3.2%) and highest after knee and hip joint replacement (98.1%). Including cases with a follow-up rehabilitation relevant diagnosis (n=1,000), the proportion of persons with rehabilitation increased to 51.7% (p<0.001). Reasons for an untreated follow-up rehabilitation were in rare cases the rejection by the payer (0.7%), the rejection by the patient (1.6%) or the lack of rehabilitation ability (3.3%). However in most cases the application remained without further differentiation (28.5%). The most important factor influencing follow-up rehabilitation access were diagnosis. Compared to knee- and hip endoprosthesis, the patients from other relevant diagnosis groups had a much lower chance to start a follow-up rehabilitation (OR from 0,01 up to 0,07; p<0,001). The desire of the patient showed the second most and significant influence to get follow-up rehabilitation (OR=8.18; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis was identified as the most important criterion for follow-up rehabilitation access. No measurable factors of functioning seem to have a big influence. Therefore, the individual doctor's decision to submit an application is of particular importance. Especially because of the low level of medical knowledge on the indication catalog of the German pension insurance, the medical treatment based on professional experience as well as the lack of further education possibilities (Gottschling-Lang, 2016), it can be assumed that the follow-up rehabilitation is less standardized and systematic. In order to ensure a need-based patient care, assessment procedures should be established and the training and continuing education of physicians should be supplemented with the topic of follow-up rehabilitation.

Mental disorders in adults with congenital heart disease: Unmet needs and impact on quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: In adult congenital heart disease (ACHD), mental health status and quality of life become important issues due to improved life expectancy. Current literature provides conflicting data regarding mental health status in ACHD. Furthermore, none of the studies so far compared prevalence rates with a matched control group. METHODS: The prevalence of mental disorders was assessed in 150 ACHD using a structured interview, and compared to 12-months estimates of the general German population. Quality of life (QoL) was measured with World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument. Furthermore, we related the diagnostic results of widely used screening instruments for depression (Beck Depression Inventory-2; BDI-2; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; HADS) with clinical diagnoses, to receive optimal sensitivity and specificity values. RESULTS: The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was significantly higher in ACHD than in the general population (48.0%; CI: 44.7-60.0 vs. 35.7%; CI: 33.5-37.9). Mood (30.7%; CI: 24.0-38.0 vs. 10.7%;CI:9.4-12.0) and anxiety disorders (28.0%; CI:22.0-36.7 vs. 16.8%; CI: 15.0-18.6) were the leading causes of psychiatric illness. Sixteen of 150 ACHD patients (10.7%) received specific treatment for psychiatric disorders before entering the study. Overall quality of life was independently and negatively associated with a diagnosis of major depression (p<0.001), alcohol dependency (p=0.004), nicotine dependency (p=0.036), and NYHA class (p=0.007). Accuracy of the HADS-D and BDI-2 as screening instruments was moderate (AUC 0.60-0.81), depending on the cut-off score used. CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatric disorders, particularly mood and anxiety disorders are significantly more frequent in ACHD compared to the general population. However, these disorders are rarely diagnosed resulting in under treatment and loss of quality of life. Quality of life is independently associated with the existence of mood, anxiety and substance use disorders. When self-rating instruments (BDI-2, HADS) are used as screening instruments in ACHD care, lower cut-off values are recommended.

Work-related rehabilitation aftercare for patients with musculoskeletal disorders: results of a randomized-controlled multicenter trial.

There is evidence that rehabilitation with a multidisciplinary focus on work-related demands effectively improves work ability and quickens return to work in patients with musculoskeletal disorders. There could be benefits to the transfer of work-related components into rehabilitation aftercare. We examined the effectiveness of an intensified work-related rehabilitation aftercare program compared with standard intensified rehabilitation aftercare in Germany on work ability. We randomly assigned 307 patients with musculoskeletal disorders from 11 rehabilitation centers to an aftercare program with work-related functional capacity training, work-related psychosocial groups, social counseling, relaxation training and exercise therapy (intervention group), or the usual aftercare program consisting of only exercise therapy (control group). The 6-month follow-up questionnaire was completed by 78.5% of patients. There was no statistically relevant between-group difference in follow-up primary (work ability) and secondary outcomes (e.g. health-related quality of life, sick leave duration). Significant improvements were observed within both the intervention and the control groups. Severely disabled participants in the intervention group had better physical functioning and shorter sick leave duration after 6 months compared with severely disabled patients in the control group. A partial replacement of standard exercise therapy by a more work-related therapy does not seem to improve work ability superiorly. Improved aftercare treatment may require a focus on employer participation and involvement within the actual work environment.