Unemployment rates among patients with long-term mental health problems

Abstract

Aims and MethodTo examine the vocational status of people with longer-term mental health problems in the inner London Borough of Wandsworth. Data collected over 10 years on 1 April each year as part of an annual census of adults with longer-term mental health problems using community mental health and rehabilitation teams were analysed to examine the vocational status of these groups.ResultsWithin the borough unemployment rates among people with longer-term mental health problems increased steadily during the 1990s, despite a decreasing rate of general unemployment for the majority of that period. Unemployment among people with long-term mental health problems increased from 80% in 1990 to 92% in 1999, and the unemployment rates among those with a diagnosis of schizophrenia increased from 88% in 1990 to 96% in 1999.Clinical ImplicationsWork and employment is important in health as well as social functioning. Greater attention to vocational issues in clinical teams is required: the challenge for mental health services is to make employment interventions of demonstrated effectiveness available to all who need them.

What are the benefits of evidence-based supported employment for patients with first-episode psychosis?

“…Poor employment outcomes are a constant finding in research on first-episode psychosis (e.g. Mason et al, 1995;Gupta et al, 1997;Singh et al, 2000), with employment rates for people with longer-term schizophrenia reported to be as low as 4% (Perkins & Rinaldi, 2002). O'Brien et al (2003), in their study of the effects of training clinical staff in the practice of evidence-based supported employment without a vocational worker integrated into the team, found that only 6% of people achieved open employment Rinaldi et al Supported employment in first-episode psychosis original papers thereafter, which compares with a figure of 11% found in a naturalistic study following people in a vocational rehabilitation programme (Reker et al, 2000).…”

“…Prior to the intervention, just under two-thirds the patients (n=27) were not engaged in any sort of work or education. Only 4 (10%) were Rinaldi et al Supported employment in first-episode psychosis original papers (55) 3 (7) 1 (5) engaged in open employment -a figure similar to that for the whole population of longer-term service users (Perkins & Rinaldi, 2002). Following vocational profiling, and input from the vocational specialist and the team, there was a significant increase in the proportion of patients engaged in work or educational activity by 6 months (w 2 =28.4, d.f.=12; P50.005).…”

Does volunteering improve employability? Insights from the British Household Panel Survey and beyond

“…For many participants volunteering is disconnected from their paid work. As others have argued, rather than being a route into work volunteering may act more as an alternative to work, or as additional to work (Corden and Ellis, 2004;Hardill and Baines, 2008;IVR, 2004;Perkins and Rinaldi, 2002). Indeed, treating volunteering as work is only one way to conceptualise it: it can also be conceptualised as a: leisure, service, or caring activity (Rochester et al, 2010).…”

Improving community health networks for people with severe mental illness: a case study investigation

“…133 While some aspects of employment can be stressful for some individuals, a 10-year study found that being in steady employment was significantly associated with a reduction in mental health service use over this time period. 134 However, individuals with SMI are much less likely to be employed than the general population, 135 and face a variety of barriers to gaining employment such as poor functioning due to illness 136 as well as stigma in the form of negative employer attitudes. 137 Furthermore, while we undoubtedly need to increase the level of employment for those with SMI, for some individuals certain forms of employment may be unobtainable.…”