Outcomes of the intention-to-treat analysis, with objective sickness absence measured at 12 months and 18 months of follow-up and questionnaire data measured at baseline (T0), 6 months (T1) and 12 months (T2) of follow-up.
| Variable | Intervention group (n=69) | Control group (n=70) | β, RR, HR§ (95% CI) | p Value |
| Objective sickness absence | ||||
| 0–12* | ||||
| At least one time on sick leave; N (%)‡ | 56 (81.2) | 48 (68.6) | 1.18 (0.97 to 1.44) | 0.118 |
| Duration (calendar days); mean (SD)/median | 27.48 (44.74)/11.00 | 50.83 (75.75)/15.00 | −0.62 (−1.12 to −0.11) | 0.017 |
| Frequency; mean (SD)/median | 2.34 (1.61)/2.00 | 2.35 (1.78)/2.00 | −0.01 (−0.28 to 0.26) | 0.963 |
| Time to onset of first sickness absence spell (calendar days); mean (SD) | 151.38 (136.99) | 187.37 (146.42) | 1.35 (0.92 to 1.99) | 0.129 |
| 0–18† | ||||
| At least one time on sick leave; N (%)‡ | 62 (89.9) | 56 (80.0) | 1.12 (0.98 to 1.29) | 0.154 |
| Duration (calendar days); mean (SD)/median | 45.03 (76.59)/20.50 | 62.57 (81.89)/25.50 | −0.33 (−0.78 to 0.12) | 0.150 |
| Frequency; mean (SD)/median | 2.97 (2.09)/2.00 | 2.93 (2.17)/2.00 | 0.01 (−0.24 to 0.67) | 0.918 |
| Time to onset of first sickness absence spell (calendar days); mean (SD) | 177.87 (184.21) | 231.19 (206.57) | 1.34 (0.93 to 1.93) | 0.117 |
| Participants with sickness absence spell(s) >28 calendar days; N (%)‡ | ||||
| 0–12* | 9 (13.0) | 17 (24.6) | 0.54 (0.26 to 1.12) | 0.127 |
| 0–18† | 14 (20.3) | 22 (31.4) | 0.65 (0.36 to 1.16) | 0.175 |
| Depressive complaints according to Beck Depression Inventory-II (0–63)¶; mean (SD) | ||||
| Baseline T0 | 17.03 (9.55) | 14.84 (8.11) | ||
| T1 | 12.77 (10.48) | 16.30 (10.08) | ||
| T2 | 12.42 (9.64) | 16.69 (11.04) | ||
| T1–T0 | −4.41 (7.00) | 0.92 (7.06) | −5.08 (−7.91 to −2.25) | 0.001 |
| T2–T0 | −3.79 (8.45) | 2.09 (9.51) | −5.40 (−9.12 to −1.68) | 0.005 |
| Depressive complaints according to Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale—Depression (0–21)¶; mean (SD) | ||||
| Screening | 10.45 (2.67) | 9.97 (2.34) | ||
| T1 | 7.67 (4.26) | 8.55 (3.81) | ||
| T2 | 7.24 (4.62) | 9.40 (4.23) | ||
| T1-screening | −2.91 (3.67) | −1.45 (3.06) | −1.38 (−2.74 to −0.02) | 0.046 |
| T2-screening | −3.24 (4.50) | −0.38 (3.91) | −2.62 (−4.41 to −0.83) | 0.005 |
| Psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory) (0–212)¶; mean (SD) | ||||
| Baseline | 40.79 (27.85) | 35.34 (25.47) | ||
| T1 | 32.26 (30.84) | 36.89 (29.43) | ||
| T2 | 32.19 (33.29) | 42.19 (33.78) | ||
| T1–T0 | −9.71 (18.12) | 4.55 (17.33) | −13.88 (−21.72 to −6.04) | 0.001 |
| T2–T0 | −9.32 (25.39) | 6.51(15.69) | −15.69 (−25.11 to −6.26) | 0.001 |
↵* Measured from baseline until 12 months of follow-up.
↵† Measured from baseline until 18 months of follow-up.
↵‡ Dichotomous variable (no/yes) with N (%) indicating ‘yes.’
↵§ β (95% CI) in case of continuous variable, RR (95% CI) in case of dichotomous variable and HR in case of time to onset of first sickness absence spell.
↵¶ Scale range.