Work-focused cognitive behavioral intervention for psychological complaints in patients on sick leave due to work-related stress: Results from a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundWork-related stress is a global problem with negative implications for individuals and society. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate a stress management intervention for patients on sick leave due to work-related stress complaints using a three-armed randomized controlled design.MethodsParticipants were patients referred from three municipalities to the regional Department of Occupational Medicine. Inclusion criteria were: 1) sick leave due to work-related stress complaints, 2) a diagnosis of adjustment disorder or reactions to severe stress (ICD 10 code: F43,2 – F 43,9 not PTSD) or mild depressive episode (F 32.0). Through a double randomization procedure patients (n = 163) were randomized to either an intervention group (n = 58), a ‘control group A’ receiving a clinical examination (n = 56), or ‘control group B’ (n = 49) receiving no offers at the department. The intervention comprised six sessions of individual cognitive behavioral therapy and the offer of a small workplace intervention. Questionnaire data were analyzed with multivariate repeated measurements analysis. Primary outcomes assessed were perceived stress and general mental health. Secondary outcomes were sleep quality and cognitive failures. Follow-up was at four and 10 months after baseline.ResultsComplaints were significantly reduced in all groups over time. No group effects were observed between the intervention group and control group A that was clinically assessed. Significant group effects were found for perceived stress and memory when comparing the intervention group to group B, but most likely not due to an intervention effect.ConclusionPsychological complaints improved substantially over time in all groups, but there was no significant treatment effect on any outcomes when the intervention group was compared to control group A that received a clinical assessment.Trial registrationISRCTN ISRCTN91404229. Registered 03 August 2012 (retrospectively registered).Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12952-017-0078-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Chronic Diseases and Employment: Which Interventions Support the Maintenance of Work and Return to Work among Workers with Chronic Illnesses? A Systematic Review

“…Christensen et al [31] compared three different intervention programs; Bergström et al [27] compared three different intervention programs with a control group; Dalgaard et al [29] compared an intervention group with two control groups; and Nieuwenhuijsen et al [22] used both a control group and a placebo group. Two different occupational rehabilitation programs were compared in the study by Friedrich et al [20].…”

“…de Buck et al [19] examined work loss (total incapacity or unemployment) and Detaille et al [1] examined self-efficacy at work and attitudes toward self-management at work as their primary outcomes. There were no secondary findings in six studies [21,26,27,29,31,33].…”

“…Six studies were rated with scores of 11 and were found to be of very good quality [19,20,21,22,23,24]. The remaining nine studies [1,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32] were of good quality; no study was rated as a study of poor quality. The Christensen et al study [31] scored the fewest points because of the lack of clear statements about randomization, blinding of participants in the allocation, and intervention.…”

Impacts of cognitive behavior therapy on occupational stress among science and social science education facilitators in open and distance learning centers and its implications for community development

“…Dalgaard et al [ 27 ] found a significant effect of a stress-management intervention (CBT) on a lasting return to work among patients with work-related stress complaints. Dalgaard et al [ 28 ] found significant group effects of Work-focused cognitive behavioral intervention on perceived stress and memory when compared to the control group.…”

“…Dalgaard et al [ 27 ] found a significant effect of a stress-management intervention (CBT) on a lasting return to work among patients with work-related stress complaints. Dalgaard et al [ 28 ] found significant group effects of Work-focused cognitive behavioral intervention on perceived stress and memory when compared to the control group. Eseadi et al [ 29 ] found a significant decline in depression was observed among the participants in the group after their exposure to rational emotive cognitive-behavioral coaching (RE-CBC).…”