IGLOo: Sickness absence and sustainable return to work pilot study

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Mental health; Mental and Behavioural Disorders

• Registration Number: ISRCTN11788559
• Lead Sponsor: Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust

Brief Summary

2024 Protocol article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38308380/ (added 05/02/2024)

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2022-10-06
• Last Update Posted: 5 August 2024
• Study Completion: 2025-02-28

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Ongoing
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 5750

Inclusion Criteria

Current participant inclusion criteria as of 09/05/2023:
1. Individuals aged 18 years and over, on long-term sick leave (defined as > 14 days) due to occupational burnout and/or a common mental health problem as a primary reason or where is it known as associated comorbidity.
2. Line managers of participants on long-term sick leave.
3. Consistent with national clinical guidelines, common mental health problems meeting eligibility criteria for this study include: adjustment disorders (including reactive stress), major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder with/without agoraphobia, health anxiety, functional disorders and anxiety-related somatic symptoms
4. The study will also include participants whose sickness absence is related to other chronic illnesses which are known to be highly comorbid with common mental disorders listed above; such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal problems, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other long-term conditions (LTC). This inclusion criterion is necessary to properly identify participants who are affected by common mental disorders, but whose primary reason for sickness absence may be a LTC recorded in their occupational records. We acknowledge that some employees may prefer to report a LTC as a primary reason for sickness, rather than a mental health problem, considering that the latter may be perceived as stigmatising.

Previous participant inclusion criteria:
Large organisations with 600 employees and above. This will include NHS trusts, public and private sector employers in Yorkshire and in particular, the South Yorkshire and South Humber region.
1. Public and private sector organisations
2. Line managers of participants on long-term sick leave
3. Individuals aged 18 years and over on long-term sick leave (defined as > 14 days) due to occupational burnout and/or a common mental health problem as a primary reason or where is it known as associated comorbidity
4. Consistent with national clinical guidelines, common mental health problems meeting eligibility criteria for this study include: adjustment disorders (including reactive stress), major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder with/without agoraphobia, health anxiety, functional disorders and anxiety-related somatic symptoms
5. The study will also include participants whose sickness absence is related to other chronic illnesses which are known to be highly comorbid with common mental disorders listed above; such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal problems, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other long-term conditions (LTC). This inclusion criterion is necessary to properly identify participants who are affected by common mental disorders, but whose primary reason for sickness absence may be a LTC recorded in their occupational records. We acknowledge that some employees may prefer to report a LTC as a primary reason for sickness, rather than a mental health problem, considering that the latter may be perceived as stigmatising.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Organisations that outsource their return-to-work management.
2. Organisations that have <2% of workers taking long-term sick in the past 12 months.
3. Individuals on long-term sick leave due to a severe mental disorder (psychotic disorder; bipolar disorder); substance use disorder; a neurological condition such as dementia; or under investigation for misconduct or formal disciplinary action
4. Workers aged 17 years of age and under

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The number of days taken until the first day of return to work (partial or full return) using organisational records and self-report. Data collected monthly (organisational records) and at 3 6, 9 and 12 months (self-reported)