Ohio RETAIN Impact Evaluation

NCT05219045 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: RTN-OH
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 4,525
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN) demonstration is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to improve employment outcomes for individuals who experience injuries or illnesses that put them at risk of exiting the labor force and relying on disability programs and other public supports in the long term. RETAIN projects include a combination of medical provider services, stay-at-work/return-to-work (SAW/RTW) coordination services, and other SAW/RTW services. This evaluation will focus on the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services' implementation of "Ohio RETAIN." The evaluation will document how the project is implemented, describe enrollees, estimate the project's impacts on enrollees' outcomes, and assess whether the benefits outweigh the costs.

Conditions

Disability

Keywords

disability; employment; unemployment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Share of enrollees employed in the fourth quarter after enrollment

  Share of enrollees employed in the fourth quarter after enrollment obtained from state unemployment insurance wage records. These files include individual-level wage records for six quarters surrounding enrollment in the study, including the quarter prior to enrollment, the quarter of enrollment, and four post-enrollment quarters.

  Measured over the three months in the fourth quarter after enrollment

• Enrollee earnings in the fourth quarter after enrollment

  Sum of enrollee earnings in the fourth quarter after enrollment obtained from state unemployment insurance wage records. These files include individual-level wage records for six quarters surrounding enrollment in the study, including the quarter prior to enrollment, the quarter of enrollment, and four post-enrollment quarters.

  Measured over the three months in the fourth quarter after enrollment

• Share of enrollees that applied for SSDI or SSI during the 12 months after enrollment

  Share of enrollees that applied for SSDI or SSI during any of the 12 months after enrollment obtained from SSA program data. These files include detailed information about Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applications SSDI and SSI awards, SSDI and SSI benefit amounts and enrollee characteristics (for enrollees who have ever applied for SSA program benefits)

  Measured in the 12 months after enrollment

Study Arms (2)

RETAIN Programming

EXPERIMENTAL

The experimental group receives the full set of RETAIN intervention activities.

Other: Ohio RETAIN

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Medical providers who treat both treatment and control group enrollees receive training on stay-at-work/return-to-work best practices

Interventions

Ohio RETAIN OTHER

RETAIN projects include a combination of medical provider services, stay-at-work/return-to-work (SAW/RTW) coordination services, and other SAW/RTW services. The evaluation compares the treatment group that is eligible to receive the full set of RETAIN intervention activities and an active comparator that is not.

RETAIN Programming

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age 18- 65
• Currently employed or actively seeking employment
• Live in Youngstown (Mahoning, Columbiana, and Trumbull Counties), Toledo (Lucas County), and Cincinnati (Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren Counties
• Provider prescribed limitations of work, FMLA paperwork submitted for provider completion, documentation of work limitations in office notes, or an illness/injury which has previously resulted in work limitations based upon the nurse's clinical judgement and experience for a treatment barrier that is prolonging recovery and return to work
• Has a qualifying musculoskeletal injury or exacerbation or a qualifying cardiovascular procedure
• Qualifying musculoskeletal injury or exacerbation: (a) Has occurred in the last 3 months and has limited their ability to work; (b) Not work related; (c) Surgery was in the last 3 months with continued limitations at work; (d) Upcoming surgery within 1 month.
• Qualifying Cardiovascular procedure: (a) CABG (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft) scheduled or done; (b) TAVR (Coronary Valve replacement with open heart entry to exclude trans-catheter) approach scheduled or done; (c) (Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm) open entry approach scheduled or done; (d) Aorto-bifemoral bypass with activity restrictions for 4 weeks or more scheduled or done; (e) Cardiac Catheterization with stent placement with: i) Cardiac Rehab ordered at time of Cardiac Catheterization or ii) No Cardiac Rehab ordered at time of Cardiac Catheterization, but Cardiac Rehab has been ordered at Cardiac Catheterization follow up appointment.

You may not qualify if:

• Retired
• Has or is pursuing a Bureau of Workers' Compensation claim for this injury
• Has applied for or is currently receiving Social Security Insurance or Social Security Disability Insurance
• Has substance abuse disorder
• Has legal representation
• Pregnant
• Has a terminal disease
• Multiple trauma patient with multi-system involvement requiring being off work/recovery for more than 3-6 months.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.: lead
• Social Security Administration: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS)

Columbus, Ohio, 43215, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Jill Berk, PhD

  Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

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

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 19, 2022
• First Posted: February 1, 2022
• Study Start: January 19, 2022
• Primary Completion: August 18, 2025
• Study Completion: February 28, 2026
• Last Updated: March 6, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)