Effects of Motivational Interviewing for Long-term Sick Absence

NCT03212118 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2016/2300-C
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 774
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Long-term sickness absence has considerable impact on social functioning, families involved, the employer, and society as a whole. Preventing long-term sickness absence and increase the likelihood of return to work (RTW) are critical concerns for industrialized countries across the world. Motivational factors contributing to RTW and maintenance of work participation are therefore of importance to explore in order to get the person back to work after long-term sick leave. Motivational interviewing (MI) is an empirically validated psychological approach that may be particularly useful in a RTW context. Even though MI has been widely studied and is considered a flexible intervention strategy in different domains, its effectiveness in improving RTW has not yet been studied. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether MI provided by trained caseworkers at The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) to sick-listed users with unselected diagnoses facilitates RTW compared with follow-up as usual.

Conditions

Sick Leave

Keywords

Sick Leave; Return to work; Motivational interviewing; Absenteeism; Occupational Health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Total number of sickness absence days during the year after enrollment in the study (i.e. after randomization)

  Register data from the national health and welfare services

  12 months

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• The time until full sustainable return to work (RTW), i.e. for at least 4 weeks without relapse

  12 months

• Probability of working (i.e. not receiving medical benefits) each month during follow-up, measured as repeated events

  12 months

• Return to Work Self-Efficacy

  12 months

• Resilience

  12 months

• Return to work expectations

  12 months

Other Outcomes (5)

• Pain

  12 months

• Fatigue

  12 months

• Sleep problems

  12 months

Study Arms (3)

Treatment as usual

OTHER

Treatment as usual "untouched". This is the standard The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) procedure.

Behavioral: Treatment as usual (TAU-0)

Two talks

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Two standard talks (not including elements from motivational interviewing)

Behavioral: Structured talks (TAU-2)

Motivational interviewing

EXPERIMENTAL

Two standard talks with a motivational interviewing content.

Behavioral: motivational interviewing (MI)

Interventions

Treatment as usual (TAU-0) BEHAVIORAL

The standard NAV procedure, which consists of a telephone call within 8 weeks to an employer who have employees on 100% sick leave, in addition to regular NAV conversations "on-demand" (not "fixed intervals") between the NAV caseworkers and the employees.

Also known as: 'untouched'

Treatment as usual

Structured talks (TAU-2) BEHAVIORAL

Two structured talks (not including elements from motivational interviewing)

Also known as: non-MI

Two talks

motivational interviewing (MI) BEHAVIORAL

Two structured talks (must have a valid motivational interviewing content).

Also known as: MI

Motivational interviewing

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 60 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Living in the county Sør-Trøndelag
• On sick leave for 8 weeks
• Current sick leave status of 50-100%

You may not qualify if:

• no employment
• pregnancy

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Norwegian University of Science and Technology: lead
• University of Bergen: collaborator
• University of Oslo: collaborator
• National Center for Occupational Rehabilitation, Rauland: collaborator
• Deakin University: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Dept

Trondheim, Norway

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Aasdahl L, Foldal VS, Standal MI, Hagen R, Johnsen R, Solbjor M, Fimland MS, Fossen H, Jensen C, Bagoien G, Halsteinli V, Fors EA. Motivational interviewing in long-term sickness absence: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial followed by qualitative and economic studies. BMC Public Health. 2018 Jun 18;18(1):756. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5686-0.

  PMID: 29914463 BACKGROUND

• Foldal VS, Solbjor M, Standal MI, Fors EA, Hagen R, Bagoien G, Johnsen R, Hara KW, Fossen H, Lochting I, Eik H, Grotle M, Aasdahl L. Barriers and Facilitators for Implementing Motivational Interviewing as a Return to Work Intervention in a Norwegian Social Insurance Setting: A Mixed Methods Process Evaluation. J Occup Rehabil. 2021 Dec;31(4):785-795. doi: 10.1007/s10926-021-09964-9. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

  PMID: 33761083 DERIVED

• Foldal VS, Standal MI, Aasdahl L, Hagen R, Bagoien G, Fors EA, Johnsen R, Solbjor M. Sick-listed workers' experiences with motivational interviewing in the return to work process: a qualitative interview study. BMC Public Health. 2020 Feb 28;20(1):276. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-8382-9.

  PMID: 32111199 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Therapeutics; Motivational Interviewing

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Directive Counseling; Counseling; Mental Health Services; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Health Services; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services

Study Officials

• Egil Andreas Fors, phd prof

  Norwegian University of Science and Technology

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 12, 2017
• First Posted: July 11, 2017
• Study Start: January 1, 2018
• Primary Completion: October 22, 2020
• Study Completion: July 1, 2022
• Last Updated: September 23, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

NO (1)