Improving Vocational Outcomes in Arthritis
Condition: Arthritis; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Rheumatic Diseases
MeSH terms: Arthritis; Rheumatic Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Collagen Diseases
Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase 2

Summary: 
      The long-term objectives of this research project are to enhance program participation and
      improve the employment prospects of people with work disability due to arthritis and related
      musculoskeletal disorders (ARMD) who are actively seeking vocational (job-related)
      rehabilitation (VR) services.

      This study is designed to compare the employment situations of a group of people receiving a
      two-part intervention and a group that is not receiving the intervention. The intervention
      consists of training sessions to help prospective VR clients with ARMD successfully enter and
      complete the VR program, and training sessions for a randomly selected group of VR
      professionals to help them serve VR clients with ARMD more effectively.
    

Detailed description: 
      The long-term objectives of this research project are to enhance program participation and
      improve the vocational outcomes of people with work disability due to arthritis and related
      musculoskeletal disorders (ARMD) who are actively seeking vocational rehabilitation services.

      Some researchers think that people with work disability due to ARMD seeking vocational
      rehabilitation (VR) services who are exposed to an "agency access intervention" are more
      likely to gain entrance to the VR system and be determined eligible for services than are
      similar people not exposed to the intervention. Further, they think that people with work
      disability due to ARMD who are determined to be eligible for VR services, and who are exposed
      to an "agency enhancement intervention" while receiving services, are more likely to become
      and remain employed upon completion of the VR program than are similar people not exposed to
      the intervention.

      The research design is a randomized, controlled, field experiment comparing the vocational
      outcomes of a group receiving a two-part intervention to those not receiving the
      intervention. The design allows us to evaluate separately each component of the intervention.
      The intervention consists of training sessions to help prospective VR clients with ARMD
      successfully enter and complete the VR program, and training sessions for a randomly selected
      group of VR professionals to help them serve VR clients with ARMD more effectively.

      If this intervention strategy can significantly increase (1) VR utilization rates; (2)
      post-service employment rates; and (3) length of post-service employment in a previously
      underserved group with historically poor VR outcomes, it could have a significant role in
      reducing the immense impact, nationally, of work disability due to ARMD.
    

Intervention name(s): Vocational counseling intervention; Reading materials for control participants; Standard of care
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): No education or behavioral intervention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Arthritis and related musculoskeletal disorders (ARMD); Vocational rehabilitation (VR); Agency enhancement intervention; Health care service evaluation; Musculoskeletal disability; Return to work; Outcomes research; Unemployment; Work disability