The effects of a stigma awareness intervention on finding and retaining paid employment a cluster randomized controlled trial among unemployed people with mental illness

Introduction: Stigma is one of the barriers to paid employment for people with mental illness. Deliberate (non-)disclosure decisions may prevent this, but the effects of stigma awareness interventions are mostly unknown. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a stigma awareness intervention for employment specialists and a decision aid and two infographics about disclosure of mental illness on finding and retaining employment for unemployed people with mental illness, compared to usual guidance. Material and methods: A clustered RCT was conducted. Participants were unemployed people with mental illness who receive social benefits (N=153) and were recruited at eight locations. The control group received guidance as usual and the experimental group received guidance as usual combined with the stigma awareness intervention. Health, wellbeing, job seeking activities and disclosure were measured at baseline and 3, 6 and 12 months. Multilevel analyses were conducted to analyze the effects of the intervention on finding and retaining employment, controlled for other factors. Results: In the experimental group, after six (T2) and twelve months (T3) almost twice as many participants had found paid employment (T2: CG=26.1% vs EG=50.7%, p=0.003; T3: CG=34.4% vs EG=53.8%, p=0.026), and retained paid employment after twelve months (CG=23.4% vs EG=49.2%, p=0.002), compared to the control group. Conclusions: A stigma awareness intervention contributes to more often finding and retaining paid employment for people with mental illness

The opinion of adolescents and adults on Dutch restrictive and educational alcohol policy measures

Objectives The main objective of this study is to explore the opinion of 16-22-year olds on alcohol policy measures compared to the opinion of adults older than 22 years.Methods Data was collected in 2008 by using a Dutch panel. This panel was based on a representative probability of households with 8280 members of 16 years and older. The study had a cross-sectional design and questionnaires were filled out through internet.Results According measures related to the availability of alcohol, the 16-18- and 19-22-year olds are significantly more negative about these policy measures than the respondents older than 22 years. Educational measures were more popular than restrictive availability measures among all three groups, and the opinions of the groups differed significantly from each other. Own alcohol use seemed to be the main predictor for the opinion on restrictive availability measures.Conclusions The 16-22-year olds are more negative regarding restrictive availability measures and educational measures than adults older than 22 years, and the restrictive availability measures are less popular than the educational measures among the adolescents.Opinion Alcohol Policy Adolescents Survey

Barriers to and facilitators of return to work after sick leave in workers with common mental disorders: Perspectives of workers, mental health professionals, occupational health professionals, general physicians and managers:70

Common mental disorders (CMDs) are among the leading causes of disability worldwide and have a major impact in terms of lost productivity and sickness absence. Returning to work is a complex process in which different stakeholders are involved and have to co-operate. The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of the return-to-work (RTW) process of workers on sick leave with CMDs, and of the RTW barriers and facilitators from a multi-stakeholder perspective. The perspective of important stakeholder groups on barriers and facilitators and their own role in the RTW process were explored in four focus groups, i.e. with mental health professionals, occupational health professionals, general physicians and managers (PART A). Workers’ own perspectives on what had led to sickness absence, as well as on RTW barriers and facilitators, were explored using face-to-face interviews with three sub-groups of workers: workers with CMDs on short-, medium- and long-term sickness absence. All workers were interviewed twice to fully capture the nature of the RTW process (PART B)

The opinion on Dutch cannabis policy measures: A cross-sectional survey [Dataset]

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Barriers to and facilitators of return to work after sick leave in workers with common mental disorders: Perspectives of workers, mental health professionals, occupational health professionals, general physicians and managers:70

Common mental disorders (CMDs) are among the leading causes of disability worldwide and have a major impact in terms of lost productivity and sickness absence. Returning to work is a complex process in which different stakeholders are involved and have to co-operate. The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of the return-to-work (RTW) process of workers on sick leave with CMDs, and of the RTW barriers and facilitators from a multi-stakeholder perspective. The perspective of important stakeholder groups on barriers and facilitators and their own role in the RTW process were explored in four focus groups, i.e. with mental health professionals, occupational health professionals, general physicians and managers (PART A). Workers’ own perspectives on what had led to sickness absence, as well as on RTW barriers and facilitators, were explored using face-to-face interviews with three sub-groups of workers: workers with CMDs on short-, medium- and long-term sickness absence. All workers were interviewed twice to fully capture the nature of the RTW process (PART B)

The opinion on Dutch cannabis policy measures: A cross-sectional survey [Dataset]

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The opinion of adolescents and adults on Dutch restrictive and educational alcohol policy measures [Dataset]

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The association between exposure to psychosocial work factors and mental health in older employees, a 3-year follow-up study

Purpose: Unfavourable exposure to psychosocial work factors threatens older employees’ mental health, and their sustained employment. This study assesses whether an improved compared to stable unfavourable and stable favourable exposure to psychosocial work factors is associated with a change in mental health in older employees at 3-year follow-up. Methods: The current study used data from the Study on Transitions in Employment, Ability and Motivation (STREAM), in workers aged 45–65 years (n = 5249). Two-year (2010–2012) exposure was assessed for psychological demands, autonomy, support, mental load, and distributive justice. Linear regression analyses were performed to compare improved exposure to unfavourable psychosocial work factors with stable unfavourable and stable favourable exposure and mental health at follow-up (2013), corrected for confounders. Analyses were stratified for age groups (45–54 and 55–65 years) and gender. Results: In certain subgroups, stable unfavourable exposure to psychological demands, autonomy, support, and distributive justice was associated with a significantly lower mental health score than improved exposure. Stable favourable exposure to support was associated with a higher mental health score than improved support, whereas stable favourable exposure to autonomy was associated with a lower mental health score compared to improved exposure. Conclusions: There is a longitudinal association between changes in exposure to psychosocial work factors and mental health. Improvement in unfavourable exposure to psychosocial work factors was associated with improved mental health. This is important information for organisations that consider deploying measures to improve the psychosocial work environment of older workers

Dutch and Norwegian support of alcohol policy measures to prevent young people from problematic drinking: A cross-national comparison [Dataset]

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