General characteristics of the included economic evaluation studies on mental health interventions aimed at prevention, treatment, or return to work among (sick-listed) workers
| Study | Population (N analyses) | Intervention and control condition | Design | Perspective | Intervention period/time horizon | Effectiveness/benefits | Costs | Sensitivity or uncertainty analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic evaluation studies on mental health interventions aimed at prevention or treatment | ||||||||
| Lo Sasso et al25; USA | Employed primary care patients with depression (n=198) | Enhanced treatment (N=96); usual care (N=102) | CBA alongside RCT | Employer perspective | 2 years | Productivity (absenteeism and presenteeism) | Intervention costs; healthcare costs (2000 US$) | Univariate and multivariate sensitivity analyses |
| Bittman et al26; USA | Long-term care workers (n=112) | Recreational music making: intervention weeks 1–6 (N=43); intervention weeks 7–12 (N=41) | CBA alongside randomised cross-over study | Not stated | Intervention period: 6 weeks; follow-up: 12 weeks | Mental health: burnout and mood dimensions; satisfaction; turnover rates | Intervention costs; turnover costs (US$; year ≤2003 (not stated)) | No sensitivity analyses |
| Wang et al6; USA | Hypothetical cohort of 40-year-old workers (N not stated) | Screening and enhanced depression care; usual care | CUA and CBA (Markov model) | Societal perspective (CUA) and employer-purchaser perspective (CBA) | Intervention period: 18 months; CUA: lifetime; CBA: 5 years | CUA: quality of life from (discounted at 3%); CBA: productivity; turnover and psychiatric hospitalisation | CUA: intervention costs; healthcare costs (discounted at 3%); CBA: intervention costs; healthcare costs (2004 US$) | Univariate and probabilistic sensitivity analyses |
| Vogt et al27; Denmark | Air traffic controllers (ATCOs) who experienced a (critical) incident (N=38) from the German Air Traffic Control Services | CISM Programme: (N=18); compared with no intervention (N=20) | CBA alongside cohort study (not stated) | Not stated | 5 years | RTW (short term): time between critical incident and full recovery; work performance; self-reported contribution of the CISM-programme on recovery | Intervention costs (2003 US$) | No sensitivity analyses |
| Economic evaluations on interventions aimed at RTW among sick-listed workers | ||||||||
| Van Oostrom et al28; The Netherlands | Employees with distress, 2–8 weeks on sick leave (N=145) | Participatory RTW-intervention at occupational health services (N=73); usual care (N=72) | CEA, CUA and CBA alongside RCT | Societal perspective (CUA and CEA); employer perspective (CBA) | 12 months | RTW; QALYs | Intervention costs; healthcare costs; costs of occupational health services; productivity costs (2008 €) | Univariate sensitivity analysis; uncertainty analyses |
| Brouwers et al29; The Netherlands | Patients with minor mental health problems on sick leave (max 3 months) (N=194) | Intervention by trained social workers on problem-solving strategies (N=98); routine GP care (N=96) | CEA, CUA and CBA alongside RCT | Not stated | Intervention period: 10 weeks; follow-up: 18 months; | Sick leave duration; functional status; health status; medical consumption | Intervention costs; direct healthcare costs; indirect costs of production losses (€; year ≤2010 (not stated)) | Univariate sensitivity analyses; uncertainty analysis |
| Leon et al30; USA | Employees with long-term disability claims for depression (N=598) | Depression-screening programme, antidepressant medication and sessions with a psychiatrist | CBA based on a simulation study | Not stated | 1 year | RTW; savings for the insurance company | Treatment costs (US$; year ≤2002 (not stated)) | Univariate sensitivity analyses |
| Rebergen et al31; The Netherlands | Police workers on sick leave due to mental health problems (N=240) | Activating GBC by trained occupational physicians (N=125); usual care (N=115) | CEA and CBA alongside RCT | CEA: societal perspective; CBA: employer perspective | 1 year follow-up | Sick leave duration | Healthcare costs; productivity costs (2003 €) | Univariate sensitivity analyses uncertainty analyses |
| Schene et al32; The Netherlands | Adults with major depression and mean absenteeism of 242 days (N=62) | Addition of occupational therapy to treatment as usual (N=30); treatment as usual (N=32) | CEA, CBA alongside RCT (not stated) | Not stated | Intervention period: 48 weeks; time horizon: 12 months | Depression; work resumption; work stress; productivity | Healthcare costs (US$; year ≤2007 (not stated)) | Univariate sensitivity analyses (not stated) |
| Uegaki et al33; The Netherlands | Workers with stress-related sick leave for no longer than 3 months | Minimal intervention (MISS) by GPs (N=227); usual care (N=206) | CUA alongside cluster RCT | Societal perspective | Intervention period: 4 weeks; time horizon: 12 months | QALYs | Intervention costs; healthcare costs productivity costs; patient/family costs (2004 €) | Univariate sensitivity analyses; uncertainty analyses |
CBA, cost-benefit analysis; CEA, cost-effectiveness analysis; CISM, Critical Incident Stress Management; CUA, cost-utility analysis; GBC, guideline-based care; GP, general practitioner; RCT, randomised controlled trial; RTW, return to work; QALY, quality adjusted life year.