Article

The objective of this study was to better understand the long-term effects of an
improved model for cooperation on employment between rehabilitation professionals
in vocational rehabilitation (VR). To compare these effects with those associated
with the traditional model of cooperation. The study featured a group of patients
who participated in a developmental project. All of the patients had some degree
of restricted work capacity, which was evidenced somatically as well as
mentally/socially. They had all experienced long periods of unemployment during
the 2-year period before the intervention. A 'natural experiment study design'
that relied on database records was used. Using matching criteria, we identified
'social twins' from a government register to create comparison groups at the
local, county and national levels (n = 4 x 51 patients). Repeated-measures
analysis of variance and logistic regression were used to analyse the data. The
majority (59%) of the study group was employed 3 years after the intervention
compared with 39 and 41% in the two matched control groups, respectively. The
corresponding figures after 6 years were 51 versus 39 and 37%. An individual with
a somatically restricted work capacity was about twice as likely to secure
gainful employment following VR as compared with an individual with a
mentally/socially restricted work capacity. In conclusion, the study focused on
an improved method of cooperation between rehabilitation actors in the context of
VR programmes. A model that included systematic multiprofessional cross-sector
group meetings was explored, and we concluded that a substantial percentage of
the enrolled patients successfully secured employment over a 6-year period. This
percentage exceeded that of matched pairs in a county and national group; we
presume that these groups represented 'the usual form of cooperation'.

Langue : ANGLAIS