Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2006 Mar 16:6:69.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-6-69.

Solution-focused intervention for sick listed employees with psychological problems or muscle skeletal pain: a randomised controlled trial [ISRCTN39140363]

Pal Nystuen  1 , Kare B Hagen
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Solution-focused intervention for sick listed employees with psychological problems or muscle skeletal pain: a randomised controlled trial [ISRCTN39140363]

Pal Nystuen et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Long-term sick leave has been of concern to politicians and decision-makers in Norway for several years. In the current study we assess the efficacy of a solution-focused follow-up for sick-listed employees.

Methods: Employees on long-term sick leave due to psychological problems or muscle skeletal pain (n = 703) were invited to participate in the project. Following self-recruitment, 103 were randomly allocated to receive solution-focused follow-up (n = 53) or "treatment as usual" (n = 50). The intervention was integrated within the regular follow up of six social security offices and organised as eight weekly solution focused work sessions. Effectiveness was measured by rate of return to work and health related quality of life (SF-36).

Results: Intention to treat analysis showed no significant differences between the two groups for any of the outcome measures. Secondary analysis, comparing those who attended at least 50% of the sessions with the control group revealed a significant difference in favour of the active intervention group in the SF-36 subscale of mental health (Effect Size 0.56, p = 0.05). When comparing the subgroup of participants with psychological problems there was a significant difference in mental health in favour of the intervention group (Effect Size 0.71, p = 0.041).

Conclusion: A voluntary solution-focused intervention offered by social-security offices is no more effective than regular follow up for employees on long-term sick leave due to psychological problems or muscle skeletal pain.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the trial.
Figure 2
Figure 2
SF-36 scores.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ustun TB. The global burden of mental disorders [see comments] Am J Public Health. 1999;89:1315–1318. - PMC - PubMed
    1. The world health report 2003 - shaping the future. Geneva, The World Health Organization; 2003. pp. 1–131.
    1. The WHO World Mental Health Survey Consortium Prevalence, Severity, and Unmet Need for Treatment of Mental Disorders in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys . JAMA. 2004;291:2581–2590. doi: 10.1001/jama.291.21.2581. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Utredningsavdelingen R. BASISRAPPORT 2001 - Mellomlangsiktig budsjettering og rapportering. 2002.
    1. Nystuen P, Hagen KB, Herrin J. Mental health problems as a cause of long-term sick leave in the Norwegian workforce. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. 2001:175–182. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Associated data