Department of Psychology, School of Behavioural Science, The University of Melbourne, and ORYGEN Research Centre, Parkville
Department of Psychology, School of Behavioural Science, The University of Melbourne
ORYGEN Research Centre, Parkville, and Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Correspondence: Dr Eóin Killackey, ORYGEN Research Centre, 35 Poplar Road, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia. E-mail: eoin{at}unimelb.edu.au
This research was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Program Grant (ID: 350241) and an unrestricted study grant from Bristol Myers Squibb. ORYGEN Research Centre is supported by the Colonial Foundation.
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Unemployment is a major problem for people with first-episode psychosis and schizophrenia. This has repercussions for the economy, social functioning and illness prognosis.
Aims
To examine whether a vocational intervention – individual placement and support (IPS) – which has been found to be beneficial in populations with chronic schizophrenia, was a useful intervention for those with first-episode psychosis.
Method
A total of 41 people with first-episode psychosis were randomised to receive either 6 months of IPS + treatment as usual (TAU) (n=20) or TAU alone (n=21).
Results
The IPS group had significantly better outcomes on level of employment (13 v. 2, P<0.001), hours worked per week (median 38 v. 22.5, P=0.006), jobs acquired (23 v. 3) and longevity of employment (median 5 weeks v. 0, P=0.021). The IPS group also significantly reduced their reliance on welfare benefits.
Conclusions
Individual placement and support has good potential to address the problem of vocational outcome in people with first-episode psychosis. This has economic, social and health implications.
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Individuals were eligible for the study if they wanted to find work (including a different job if they currently held one) and had at least 6 months of care left at EPPIC (EPPIC is limited to providing 18 months of care). The only exclusion criterion was lack of fluency in English. Nobody needed to be excluded on this basis.
Informed consent was required to participate in the study, and decisions regarding participation did not influence clinical care in any way. Participants were recruited via EPPIC case managers identifying people from their case-load who were interested in seeking work. There were no refusers. Assessments were conducted by an experienced, trained research assistant who was also an advanced psychology doctoral student. Assessments were generally conducted at EPPIC but some were also completed in participants homes.
Interventions
In this study, IPS + treatment as usual (TAU) (the vocational-intervention
group) was compared with TAU alone as there is no established evidence-based
vocational intervention for those with first-episode psychosis. Treatment as
usual consisted of participants continuing to receive EPPIC care. This
involves individual case management and medical review, referral to external
vocational agencies, as well as involvement with the group programme at EPPIC,
which may involve participation in the vocationally oriented groups within the
group programme. Treatment as usual was delivered primarily by EPPIC case
managers.
Individual placement and support is a highly defined form of supported employment and has six key principles:
A seventh principle, also sometimes considered as part of the model of IPS, is welfare benefits counselling,7 as there are often disincentives to be negotiated in the transition from a welfare benefit to paid employment.1,8 These can include loss of concessions for transport and utilities, high effective marginal tax rates and loss of public health access. Strong evidence supports the first four of the seven IPS principles as being necessary to successful implementation of the model.7 The other three principles have only weak evidence to support their inclusion.7 In the present trial, this vocational intervention was delivered by an employment consultant employed for the project.9 She was co-located with the clinical team and attended clinical review meetings. She delivered the intervention both on-site and off-site, and via phone calls. Location and frequency of service delivery was based on individual needs.
Objectives
The objectives of this study were to compare the effectiveness of
vocational intervention with a control condition of TAU in helping people with
first-episode psychosis find work or enter a course congruent with their
career aims. It explored the following hypotheses:
Outcomes
As this study was concerned only with the effectiveness of IPS as a
vocational intervention, and as there is little evidence in the literature of
vocational outcomes having an effect on symptom outcomes, the primary outcomes
reported here are numbers of jobs and courses, longevity of work, money earned
and level of access to welfare benefits. Secondary outcomes which are beyond
the scope of this report would be the effect of employment on symptoms and
quality of life domains.
Measures
In both groups assessment occurred at baseline and at 6 months, following
the conclusion of the intervention in the intervention group. Assessment at
both times covered a number of demographic, symptom, diagnostic and
functioning areas as detailed below.
Baseline descriptive measures
Demographic data included age, gender, employment and educational history,
length of illness, medication dosage and adherence, living situation, marital
status, current employment status and welfare benefit status.
The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale10 was used to measure the presence and severity of psychopathology during the previous 2 weeks. Negative symptoms were assessed by the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms.11 Depression was measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale–Revised.12
Diagnoses were reached by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM–IV–TR Axis 1 Disorders – Patient Edition (SCID–I/P).13
Two measures were used to assess functioning. The first was the Quality of Life Scale14 – a 21-item semi-structured interview which provides a total score comprised of four sub-scales: intrapsychic foundations, interpersonal relations, instrumental role, and common objects and activities. Only the total score is reported in this paper. The second measure used to assess functioning was the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS).15 The SOFAS is a 100-point single-item scale in which the assessor rates the individual according to their lowest level of functioning in the past month. Scores range from 0 to 100 with 100 indicating superior functioning in a wide range of activities, and lower scores indicating lower levels of functioning. The SOFAS score is indicative of social and occupational functioning and does not take into account level of psychopathology.
Primary outcome measures
The primary outcome measures in this project were: the number of jobs a
participant had held in the intervention period; the hourly rate of pay and
the number of hours worked per week; the number of weeks in each job or in
their current job at the time of follow-up; the number of courses that a
participant had completed or was currently enrolled on at the time of
follow-up; and welfare benefit receipt status.
Fidelity measures
The Supported Employment Fidelity Scale–Implementation
Questions16 was
used to assess the fidelity of the programme to the IPS model. This was
assessed by E.K. (and reviewed with an interstate colleague independent of the
project from the only other research group working in this area in Australia)
by using existing knowledge of the programme parameters and by direct
observation of the clinical team and the employment consultant.
Sample size
Sample size was determined by pragmatic considerations as there were no
previous randomised studies of vocational interventions in this population to
guide us. In the end, 41 people were recruited. There were 20 people in the
intervention group and 21 in the TAU group. One person dropped out from the
intervention group and 5 from the TAU group
(Fig. 1). Four people from the
TAU group dropped out because they had enrolled wanting help to find work and
felt that as they were not getting it they no longer wished to continue in the
project. The remaining two people (one in each group) dropped out as they were
sent to jail for offences that occurred before their enrolment in the trial.
However, all who dropped out gave their permission for their employment status
at follow-up to be determined from their case manager and medical records.
![]() View larger version (14K): [in a new window] [as a PowerPoint slide] |
Fig. 1 Flow diagram of study participants. TAU, treatment as usual.
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Statistical methods
Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS version 14.0 for Windows.
Group differences were calculated using independent-samples t-tests
and chi-squared analysis. Logistic regressions were conducted to ensure that
differences observed in main outcome variables were related to group
membership rather than variables that were different at baseline.
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View this table: [in a new window] | Table 1 Demographic and illness variables of participants at baselinea |
At baseline, 1 person in the intervention group was working in a part-time job and 2 people in the TAU group were working, 1 full-time and 1 part-time.
Dosing of the intervention
On average, the employment consultant had 29.55 (s.d.=11.45) contacts with
each participant in the intervention group across the 6-month intervention. Of
these, most (19.3) were by telephone and the others were split evenly between
in-office (5.05) and out-of-office (5.2) contacts. Total number of contacts
was significantly correlated with number of job interviews (r=0.511,
P=0.025); number of job interviews was correlated with employment
outcome (r=0.347, P=0.044). On average, those in the
intervention group had 3.00 (s.d.=4.72) job interviews, compared with 1.47
(s.d.=2.77) for those in the TAU group. Ten of the participants in the TAU
group used an external employment agency. None of these obtained work during
the period of the trial. There was no evidence of a cumulative time effect of
the intervention for those in the intervention group. Of the 13 who found
employment, 3 worked for more than 20 of a possible 26 weeks, 5 worked for
between 10 and 20 weeks, and 5 worked between 1 and 10 weeks.
Fidelity of the intervention
Scoring the intervention in consultation with an independent researcher
using the Supported Employment Fidelity Scale–Implementation
Questions16
indicated that the intervention was carried out with high fidelity
(68/75).
Overall outcome
The primary outcome of this study was whether or not young people with
first-episode psychosis who wished to find work were helped in their
vocational pursuits through access to an IPS programme with high fidelity to
the IPS model. Overall, 13 of 20 people in the intervention group found
employment compared with 2 of 21 in the TAU group. In each group, 4 people
enrolled in courses but did not find employment. Of those who found work, 3 in
the intervention group and 1 in the TAU group also enrolled in courses.
Results of individual hypotheses will now be reported.
Hypotheses testing
Hypothesis one
In the vocational-intervention group, 17 out of 20 people either had found
a job, enrolled in a course or did both, compared with 6 out 21 in the TAU
group (
2(1)=13.24, P<0.001)
(Fig. 2). When only employment
was considered as an outcome, the difference was still significant
(
2(1)=13.59, P<0.001 (TAU 2/21 v.
intervention 13/20)) (Fig.
3).
![]() View larger version (12K): [in a new window] [as a PowerPoint slide] |
Fig. 2 Employment and enrolment status by group.
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![]() View larger version (12K): [in a new window] [as a PowerPoint slide] |
Fig. 3 Employment status by group.
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Courses undertaken were in keeping with vocational objectives. Participants were supported by the employment consultant as though they were in a job (and courses were often for a licence or certificate for employment required in the participants desired area of work). Courses included forklift licence training; occupational health and safety; responsible service of alcohol; first-aid; secondary school classes; degree in screen printing; and diploma in cleaning.
In the TAU group, only two participants gained employment during the study. One worked for only 1 week (in a labouring job) and the other worked for the entire period of the study (in two jobs which were concurrent for 5 weeks at one stage, thus giving him 31 weeks of employment in a 26-week period; Table 2). In addition, this person also held a third job on entry into the study.
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View this table: [in a new window] | Table 2 Differences between treatment-as-usual and vocational-intervention groups on median duration of employment, weekly hours, total and hourly pay |
Hypothesis two
Those in the intervention group were able to find more jobs than those in
the TAU group: 23 jobs v. 3 jobs respectively, were obtained over the
intervention period (Mann–Whitney U-test:
Z=–2.964, P=0.006).
Hypothesis three
As can be seen in Table 2,
people in the intervention group worked more weeks and earned more money
overall than those in the TAU group. They also had more hours per week in
those jobs. Because of the low number in the TAU group who earned any income,
the effect is not seen in the dollars per hour result.
Hypothesis four
At baseline, 80% of the intervention group listed welfare benefits as their
primary source of income, compared with 57.1% of people in the TAU group. At
the end of the intervention, there had been a reduction of 25% to 55% of
people with benefits as their primary income in the intervention group,
compared with a 0% decrease in the TAU group. Two separate Cochrans
Q-tests were conducted to determine whether there was significant
change in use of benefits within the TAU and intervention groups. The change
in use of benefits was not significant for the TAU group (c2(1)=1.0,
P=0.317); however, there was significant change in the intervention
group (c2(1)=5.0, P=0.025).
Regression analyses
In order to ensure that the variables which were different between the
groups at baseline (SOFAS score and marital status) were not responsible for
the difference in outcomes between groups, regression analyses were carried
out. In the first regression, enrolment in a course or a job was the dependent
variable, and SOFAS and marital status were independent variables. In the
second, employment alone was the dependent variable and the same independent
variables were used. Marital status and SOFAS score were entered before group
(intervention or TAU). In the first step of the first regression, neither
marital status (P=0.051) nor SOFAS score (P=0.536) was
significant. When group was added, SOFAS became significant (P=0.023,
OR=1.179), group was significant (P=0.005, OR=260.658) and marital
status was not significant (P=0.421). The model with only marital
status and SOFAS score had an r2=0.10. With group
included, the proportion of variance explained increased from 10.49% to
43.51%.
The results followed a similar pattern for employment only as an outcome. In the first step, neither SOFAS score (P=0.267) nor marital status (P=0.156) was significant. In the second step, group (P=0.007, OR=4202.088) and SOFAS score (P=0.006, OR=1.270) were significant. The model with only marital status and SOFAS score had r2=0.08. With group included, the proportion of variance explained increased from 8% to 56.21%.
A post hoc correlation analysis showed that within groups there were significant one-tailed bivariate correlations between SOFAS score and employment-only outcome in both the intervention (P=0.004, r=0.58) and TAU (P=0.022, r=0.49) groups. There was a correlation between SOFAS score and employment or enrolment outcome only in the TAU group (P=0.024, r=0.49). It makes sense that there would be no correlation in the intervention group on this measure, as 85% had a successful outcome.
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Potential advantages of vocational intervention in first-episode psychosis
To date nearly all of the research on vocational intervention for psychotic
illness has been conducted in people with long-standing illness. However,
although unemployment is a major problem for those with long-standing
psychotic illnesses, people with first-episode psychosis also have high levels
of unemployment. A report on the state of Australian youth showed that among
15- to 24-year-olds unemployment was approximately
5%.22 Unemployment
in studies of first-episode psychosis populations is 10 times higher (about
40–50%) than for their same-age peers in the general
community.1 The
phase in life when psychosis tends to have its onset is also the period in
which vocational development (the completion of education and starting work)
occurs. Thus, it may be argued that vocational skills not developed at this
late-adolescence/early-adulthood phase of life presage greater levels of
unemployment, especially if a persons psychotic illness develops to a
more chronic
stage.23 Further,
there is evidence that unemployment is a risk factor for the development or
exacerbation of mental
illness24 and the
misuse of
substances.25
Finally, it is known that peak levels of disability develop during the early
phases of psychotic
illness26 and
efforts made in these phases can ameliorate if not prevent
disability.27 The
most effective early-intervention programmes are known to reduce the duration
of untreated illness from well over a year to only a few
months.28
Vocational intervention at this time has tremendous potential not only to
provide short-term employment experience and skills, but also to prevent
development of long-term unemployment and its associated personal, economic
and health costs. Therefore, it would seem opportune to implement vocational
interventions in the early phases of mental illness. Another advantage of
intervention at this stage is that often those with illness are not yet
accessing welfare benefits, which have been shown to pose a substantial
barrier to participation in the
workforce.29 Even
where they are, the results from our study showed that the median earned
(AU$2432) over 5 weeks was more than would have been received on any
Australian government welfare benefit payment over the same period
(AU$476–1138 depending on age and benefit type).
Current study
This study found that compared with TAU, even where that included referral
to external employment agencies, there was a significant advantage to a
vocational intervention for young people with first-episode psychosis
co-located with their clinical service. This advantage was evident in that
those in the intervention group obtained more jobs, worked more hours, earned
more money and lasted longer in their jobs than those in the TAU group.
Further, the jobs that these participants were successful in acquiring covered
a wide range of occupations that were congruent with their own interests and
needs.
It is notable that the intervention was enthusiastically received by participants, as evidenced by the 0% refusal rate. This carried through to a low drop-out rate for those in the intervention group. The higher drop-out rate in the TAU group is not surprising in that people were participating wanting help to find work and were not receiving it. It is a testament to the generosity of the participants in the TAU group that so many stayed in the trial. In future studies, a control condition which offers this group some assistance may be of benefit.
Another factor that possibly contributed to the success of the vocational intervention was the intensity of the intervention. The employment consultant in this trial, in keeping with the IPS model, was limited to a case-load of 20 individuals. This allowed her to provide intensive assistance to participants in their search for work. In comparison, those in the employment sector regularly have case-loads of over 100 and this necessarily limits the intensity of the service they can provide, particularly to those who may need more assistance and support.
Implications of this study
Employment rehabilitation is not traditionally seen to be part of mental
health services. There are many reasons which suggest that it should be. The
effects of unemployment on individuals with psychotic illness, which include
social marginalisation, higher risk of exacerbation and relapse, lack of role
and inability to participate in the economy, have been well-documented.
Likewise, unemployment has been demonstrated to compete with direct treatment
costs as the largest cost associated with schizophrenia. The results of this
study suggest that vocational interventions co-located with and delivered as
part of a complete approach to symptomatic and functional recovery are not
only desired by people with mental illness, but produce effective vocational
outcomes.
Instead of being part of the mental health system, vocational services are often external agencies to which patients are referred by case managers. A second implication of these results is the failure of the current employment system to adequately assist those with mental illness to gain access to paid employment. In Australia, agencies in the employment system often engage in a long, motivation-sapping assessment phase before job searching commences. In addition, if employment is obtained, the outcome payment system for these agencies is predicated on maintaining a person in a job for 3 and 6 months. This is not always applicable to young people who may have little or no work history, and who may wish to explore different work options. The IPS approach has the flexibility to support vocational exploration. Employment systems vary in different countries and economies, but there is no government-level system that we are aware of that is effectively addressing the issue of employment of people with mental illness. As a disability group, people with mental illnesses are consistently overrepresented among the unemployed and welfare recipients.1,8
Despite the will of people with mental illness to work, and despite the presence of agencies intended to help them find work, in high-income societies there are still high unemployment rates among those with psychotic illness. These facts, combined with the results of this study, suggest that a co-located, early-intervention approach to vocational rehabilitation may be a better bet for governments and individuals than brokered employment services.
Limitations
This study had a small sample size and only allows preliminary conclusions
to be drawn about the employment outcomes. The sample size does not provide
sufficient power to examine other potentially important questions such as the
impact employment has on symptoms and health system usage or the economic
benefits of this intervention. Further, as there is no follow-up at this stage
it is not possible to determine whether a short 6-month intervention is
sufficient to lead to lasting gains in employment and employment skills.
Although the jobs that participants acquired in the course of the project
represent a reasonable cross-section, the courses that most participants
completed were short and targeted towards specific jobs (e.g. the responsible
service of alcohol course was a requirement for working in licensed premises)
rather than teaching broader skills (e.g. the secondary English course). Many
studies in first-episode psychosis have a majority of males, but our
population in both groups was 80% male. We are unsure of the reasons for this.
There may be cultural reasons prompting young males to seek work more than
young females. It may also be that case managers prioritise work for males to
a greater extent than they do for females. A further limitation of this study
is that it lacked an economic analysis of the cost–benefit of the
intervention.
This study shows that employment outcomes can be achieved; future work will need to analyse the economic benefit of this intervention in this population over normal employment methodologies.
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Related articles in BJP:
This article has been cited by other articles:
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R. E. Drake, J. S. Skinner, G. R. Bond, and H. H. Goldman Social Security And Mental Illness: Reducing Disability With Supported Employment Health Aff., May 1, 2009; 28(3): 761 - 770. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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