Overview of study characteristics and effectiveness
| Publication | Target group | Intervention content | Duration of intervention | Fidelity>75% | Intervention given by | Contains: | Outcome | Effective | |||
| Org. change | Graded return to work | Therapy | Work place contact | ||||||||
| High-quality RCTs | |||||||||||
| Brouwers et al
23 (n=194) | CMD (depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and emotional distress) | Early intervention focused on problem solving and coping | Five sessions (50 min) over the course of 10 weeks | Yes | Social workers | – | – | X | – | Time until RTW | No |
| Fleten et al 18 (n=169) | CMD (depressive disorders and other mental disorders) | Minimal intervention: letters containing generic information about sick leave and a questionnaire | – | Yes | – | – | Time until RTW | Yes | |||
| Reme et al 20 (n=1193) | CMD (depression and anxiety symptoms) | Integrated CBT and Individual Placement and Support (IPS) | Up to 15 sessions | Yes | Therapists and caseworkers | X | X | X | X | Full RTW at 12 months | Yes |
| van der Feltz-Cornelis et al 19 (n=60) | CMD (depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and somatoform disorders) | Training of occupational physicians in diagnosing and treating CMDs. Training of psychiatrists in facilitating RTW | – | – | Occupational physicians and psychiatrists | – | – | – | – | Time until RTW | Yes |
| Volker et al 21 (n=216) | CMD (depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and somatoform disorders) | Online intervention consisting of psychoeducation and with a focus on addressing RTW | 6–17 online sessions, that could be completed at any time | No | – | – | – | X | – | Time until RTW | No |
| Bakker et al 25 (n=433) | Stress | Brief training of primary care physicians in giving advice on achieving RTW | Up to t consultations | No | Primary care physicians | – | – | – | – | Time until RTW | No |
| van Oostrom et al 26 (n=145) | Stress | Referral to an RTW-coordinator, who facilitated contact to the work place and aided in problem solving | ~1 month | Yes | RTW coordinators (social worker or labour expert) | X | – | – | – | Time until RTW | No |
| Hees et al 24 (n=117) | Depression | Individual and group sessions with an occupational therapist. Intervention focused on facilitating contact to the work place and engaging in simulated work situations | 18 sessions | Yes | Occupational therapists | – | – | X | X | Full RTW at 18 months | No |
| Vlasveld et al 27 (n=126) | Depression | Collaborative care provided by occupation care manager. Focus on problem solving, guided self-help and interventions at the work place | 6–12 sessions | No | Occupational physician care managers | – | – | X | X | Time until RTW and full RTW at 12 months | No |
| Hellström et al 22 (n=326) | Depression and anxiety | Individual Placement and Support (IPS) modified to fit workers with depression and anxiety disorders | Yes | Mentors (nurses, social workers or occupational therapists) | X | – | X | X | Full RTW at 12 months | No | |
| Fair-quality RCTs | |||||||||||
| de Weerd et al 47 (n=60) | CMD (depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, stress-related disorders and somatoform disorders) | A meeting focused on problem solving (convergence dialogue meeting) between employee, therapist and employer in addition to treatment as usual (CBT) | – | Yes | Therapists and caseworkers | – | – | – | X | Time until RTW | No |
| Lammerts et al 40 (n=186) | CMD (depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and stress-related disorders) | Early coordinated intervention focused on problem solving and fast, supported return to work | ~6 weeks | No | RTW-coordinators, insurance physicians and labour experts | X | – | – | – | Time until RTW | No |
| Lytsy et al 42 (n=308) | CMD (mental disorders) and pain | TEAM: Multidisciplinary team develop individualised rehabilitation plan focused on problem solving | – | Yes | TEAM: physicians, psychologists, occupational therapists and social workers | X | – | – | – | Number of sick-leave days in following 12 months | No |
| ACT: Acceptance and commitment therapy. Focused on enhancing level of functioning and quality of life | ACT: Therapists | – | – | X | – | ||||||
| Martin et al 38 (n=168) | CMD (anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and related mental health problems) | Multidisciplinary team is appointed to develop rehabilitation plan with a focus on problem solving | Max 12 weeks | No | Multidisciplinary teams (not specified) | X | – | – | – | Full RTW at 12 months | No |
| Momsen et al 41 (n=443) | CMD (CMD not specified and stress-related disorders) | Multidisciplinary team is appointed to develop an individualised RTW plan | – | Yes | RTW coordinators and health professionals | X | – | – | – | Time until RTW | No |
| Noordik et al 48 (n=160) | CMD (depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, stress-related disorders and adjustment disorders) | Gradual exposure to increasing work load (not partial return to work) | – | No | Occupational physicians | – | – | X | – | Time until RTW | No |
| Nystuen et al 43 (n=40) | CMD (non-severe psychological problems) | Solution focused therapy (individually or in groups) | 8 weeks (8 sessions of 3–4 hours) | – | Psychologists | – | – | X | – | Number of sick-leave days in following 12 months | No |
| Rebergen et al 49 (n=240) | CMD (depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and adjustment disorders) | Training of occupational physicians in facilitating RTW through problem solving, gradual return to work and contact to the work place. Based on CBT principles | 2–20 weeks | Yes | Occupational physicians | – | – | – | – | Time until RTW | No |
| van Beurden et al 35 (n=3228) | CMD (depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, stress-related disorders and other mental disorders) | Training of occupational physicians in following guidelines: see patient, evaluate treatment, prevent recurrences and evaluate process | 8 sessions over the course of 12 months | – | Occupational physicians | – | – | – | – | Time until RTW | No* |
| Beck et al 46 (n=20) | Stress | Psychotherapy using music to reduce stress | 6 session over the course of 9 weeks | Yes | Therapist | – | – | X | – | Self-reported work readiness | No |
| Blonk et al 29 (n=128) | Stress | Traditional CBT | 11 sessions (45 min) over the course of ~6 weeks | – | Psychologists | – | – | X | – | Time until RTW | No |
| CBT combined with advice from labour experts on work processes, stress management and RTW | 5–6 sessions (1 hour) over the course of ~3 weeks | Psychologists and labour experts | X | Yes | |||||||
| De Vente et al 44 (n=82) | Stress | Stress-management intervention based on CBT (individual) | – | Yes | Psychologists | – | – | X | – | Number of sick-leave days in following 4 months | No |
| Stress-management intervention based on CBT (group) | |||||||||||
| Netterstrøm et al 51 (n=140) | Stress | Stress-inoculation intervention and mindfulness-based training combined with contact to the work place | Stress treatment (3 months) and mindfulness-based stress intervention (8 weeks) | Yes | Occupational physicians and psychologists | X | – | X | X | Full RTW at 3 months | Yes |
| Netterstrøm et al 33 (n=117) | Stress | Stress therapy concept of Kalmia and mindfulness-based training combined with work place dialogue | 10 weeks | Yes | Therapists | – | – | X | X | Full RTW at 3 months | Yes |
| Stenlund et al 50 (n=136) | Stress | Cognitive behavioural rehabilitation (CBR) in addition to treatment as usual (Qigong; mind-body training) | CBR and one weekly Qigong session (1 hour) for a year | Yes | Physiotherapist trained in Qigong | – | – | X | – | Proportion sick-listed at 12 months | No |
| Van der Klink et al 28 (n=192) | Stress | Training of occupational physicians in giving CBT-intervention focused on problem solving and contact to the work place | 4–5 consultations (90 min) within the first 6 weeks of sick leave | Yes | Occupational physicians | – | – | X | X | Time until RTW and full RTW at 3 months | Yes |
| Willert et al 31 (n=87) | Stress | Stress-inoculation intervention | 8 sessions over the course of ~3 months | No | Psychologists | – | – | X | – | Number of sick-leave days in following 4 months | Yes |
| Folke et al 45 (n=34) | Depression | Acceptance and commitment therapy (group) | 6 sessions | – | Psychologists | – | – | X | – | Work readiness | No |
| Kröger et al 34 (n=26) | Depression | Training of therapists in giving an intervention aimed at problem solving, facilitating gradual RTW and viewing the work place as a resource. Inclusion of employer and occupational physician if possible | 24 weekly work-related CBT-sessions | Yes | Therapists experienced in treating depression and occupational physicians | X | X | X | X | Sick-leave days /100 | Yes |
| Schene et al 30 (n=50) | Depression | Intervention focused on problem solving, preparation for RTW, contact to the work place and early return to work (if possible) | 48 weeks | Yes | Occupational physicians and occupational therapists | – | – | X | X | Time until RTW | Yes |
| Skouen et al 37 (n=208) | Chronic pain | Multidisciplinary programme consisting of psychoeducation and feedback from multidisciplinary team and follow-up meetings | 1 hour meeting and three follow-up meetings | – | Multidisciplinary teams (not specified) | X | – | – | – | Number of sick-leave days in following 54 months | No |
| Multidisciplinary programme consisting of CBT, physical training and interventions at the work place | 4 weeks (6 hour every day, 5 days a week) | X | – | X | – | ||||||
| Controlled studies | |||||||||||
| Lagerveld et al 57 (n=168) | CMD (adjustment disorders, anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and other mental disorders) | Work-related CBT. Focus on the work place as a resource and on facilitating gradual RTW | 12 sessions over the course of ~5,5 months | Yes | Psychologists | – | X | X | – | Time until RTW | Yes |
| Schneider et al 59 (n=28 856) | CMD (mental disorders) | Gradual RTW | – | Physicians | – | X | – | – | Time until RTW | Yes | |
| Wåhlin et al 58 (n=311) | CMD (depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, adjustment disorders and stress-related disorders) | Medical, rehabilitating and/or work related intervention-modules (content not specified) | – | ? | ? | ? | ? | Self-reported work ability | Yes | ||
| Eklund et al 52 (n=84) | Stress | Rehabilitation involving analysis of the participant’s situation, goal setting and RTW | 16 weeks | Yes | Social insurance officers | – | – | X | X | RTW at 12 months | Yes |
| Grossi et al 53 (n=24) | Stress | Rehabilitation programme consisting of consultations with the course leader, group meetings focused on enhancing coping skills and training in relaxation techniques | 3 months (½ day of training and ½ day meetings weekly) | – | Social workers | – | – | X | – | Sickness absence at 12 months | No |
| Karlson et al 55 56 (n=148) | Stress | A dialogue-meeting focused on problem solving between worker, team worker and employer and a group seminar on stress | Meeting (1,5 hour) and seminar attendance (½ day) | – | Team workers (not specified) | – | – | – | X | RTW at 80 weeks | No |
| Netterstrøm et al 32 (n=97) | Stress | Anamnesis, clinical examination, stress management programme, physical training, training in relaxation techniques, a book on stress and facilitation of contact to the work place (in agreement with participant) | 4 months | Yes | Labour experts | – | – | X | X | Full RTW at 4 months | Yes |
| Suoyrjö et al 54 (n=218) | Fibromyalgia | Course for in-patients. Individualised interventions providing psychoeducation about fibromyalgia and aimed at enhancing coping skills | 15 days over the course of 6 months | – | Physicians, psychologists, physiotherapists, social workers etc | – | – | X | – | Time until RTW | No |
↵*Not for RTW, but for self-reported belief in RTW.
CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; CBR, cognitive behavioural rehabilitation; CMD, common mental disorder; IPS, Individual Placement and Support; RCT, randomised controlled trial; RTW, return to work.