The Job Coach Project: Implementing supported employment in Switzerland

Completed

Conditions: Mental disorder, not otherwise specified
Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Persons with stabilised severe mental illness (schizophrenia, affective disorders, personality disorders)

Registration Number: ISRCTN26099032

Lead Sponsor: Swiss National Science Foundation (Switzerland)

Brief Summary: Not available

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: Completed

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 100

Inclusion Criteria

To be included in the study, persons had to:
1. Be between 18 and 64 years of age
2. Have a stabilised mental disorder in accordance with International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) criteria
3. Be mandated by the Swiss Invalidity Insurance State Office
4. Express an interest in competitive employment
5. Be out of competitive work at the time of signing the consent form

Exclusion Criteria

Persons exhibiting the following were excluded:
1. Learning disability (IQ < 70)
2. Primary substance abuse disorder
3. Physical or organic handicap that seriously impeded work
4. Unwillingness to attend regular outpatient therapy
5. Performance less than 50% of normal work performance as evidenced during the assessment phase
6. Attendance in the programme of less than 15 hours per week.

Study & Design

Study Type: Interventional

Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The primary outcome variable was whether the participant successfully obtained competitive employment, which had been operationally defined as a job on the open labour market which anyone could hold, not only individuals with disabilities.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Vocational outcomes included:<br>1. Rates of competitive employment<br>2. Time to first job (i.e. time from study entry to first job start)<br>3. Total weeks competitively employed<br>4. Hours worked per week during the second year<br>5. Percentage of participants employed 20 hours a week or more<br>6. Job tenure in the longest competitive job held during the follow-up period<br>7. Employment status at the 2- and 5-year follow-up<br>8. Total earnings in the second year<br>9. Employment status at 2- and 5-year follow-up<br>10. Hours worked per week at 2- and 5-year follow-up<br>11. Hourly wage at 2- and 5-year follow-up<br>12. Monthly income at 2- and 5-year follow-up<br>Non-vocational outcomes included:<br>1. Psychiatric symptoms<br>2. Global functioning<br>3. Relapses (number of hospitalisations and time spent in hospital)<br>4. Coping with stress<br>5. The self-perceived and objective quality of life