Clinical trial NCT01978392: MANAGE AT WORK: Addressing the Challenge of Chronic Physical Health Conditions in the Workplace
Official title: MANAGE AT WORK: Evaluation of a Group-based Self-management Program to Address Workplace Discomfort and Fatigue Associated With Chronic Physical Health Conditions
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Chronic Physical Health Conditions
Keywords: disability
self-management
chronic illness
chronic pain
occupation
> 6 months
Lead sponsor: Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety
Sponsor class: INDUSTRY
First posted: 2013-11-07
Enrollment: 122
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The specific aim of the study is to evaluate the health benefits of a series of group workshops designed for workers with chronic physical health conditions. The facilitated workshops apply principles of pain and illness self-management to help workers deal with health-related challenges while at work. The workshops address issues of pain management, physical job demands, pacing of work, communication, problem solving, and coping. Half of the participants in the study will be randomly assigned to attend workshop sessions (10 hours total), and all study participants will be followed for one year. The primary hypothesis is that workers who participate in these workshops will show improvements in work engagement and reductions in work limitation in the subsequent 12 months.

Detailed description: One significant trend in the US workforce is the advancing median age of workers and the growing prevalence of chronic medical conditions that contribute to workplace pain, fatigue, task limitations, and reduced productivity. The proposed multi-site study is a randomized, controlled trial of a multi-session group intervention program targeting workers with chronic health concerns (N = 300). The primary outcome measures will be self-report measures of work limitations and work engagement measured at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months follow-up. Secondary outcomes will include turnover intention, sickness absence, job satisfaction, and healthcare utilization. Process variables and covariates will include assessment of self-efficacy, work-related fatigue, emotional distress, work characteristics, general health status, and basic demographic variables. The study should provide an assessment of whether principles of symptom self-management can be successfully applied to workplace problems and delivered in a group workshop format to reduce the disabling effects of chronic medical conditions.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Workers with at least one chronic physical condition (\> 6 months).
* Working full time (at least 20 hours per week).
* Able to read and speak in English language.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Impending retirement or major career change (next 12 months).
* Not available to attend group workshops after working hours.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Work limitations
timeFrame: One year
measure: Work engagement
timeFrame: One year
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Work fatigue
timeFrame: One year
measure: Turnover intention
timeFrame: One year
measure: Job satisfaction
timeFrame: One year
measure: Self-efficacy
timeFrame: One year
measure: General health status
timeFrame: One year
measure: Sickness absence
timeFrame: One year
measure: Healthcare utilization
timeFrame: One year
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Worcester
country: United States
facility: Employer #3 (confidential)
state: Massachusetts
city: Hanover
country: United States
facility: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
state: New Hampshire
city: Hanover
country: United States
facility: Employer #4 (Confidential)
state: New Hampshire
city: Providence
country: United States
facility: Employer #2 (confidential)
state: Rhode Island
Study officials:
affiliation: Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety
name: William S Shaw, Ph.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Tveito TH, Shaw WS, Huang YH, Nicholas M, Wagner G. Managing pain in the workplace: a focus group study of challenges, strategies and what matters most to workers with low back pain. Disabil Rehabil. 2010;32(24):2035-45. doi: 10.3109/09638281003797398. Epub 2010 Sep 23.
citation: Shaw WS, Tveito TH, Geehern-Lavoie M, Huang YH, Nicholas MK, Reme SE, Wagner G, Pransky G. Adapting principles of chronic pain self-management to the workplace. Disabil Rehabil. 2012;34(8):694-703. doi: 10.3109/09638288.2011.615372. Epub 2011 Oct 17.
citation: Shaw WS, Tveito TH, Boot CR. Introduction to the special section: sustainability of work with chronic health conditions. J Occup Rehabil. 2013 Jun;23(2):157-61. doi: 10.1007/s10926-013-9448-7.
citation: Shaw WS, McLellan RK, Besen E, Namazi S, Nicholas MK, Dugan AG, Tveito TH. A Worksite Self-management Program for Workers with Chronic Health Conditions Improves Worker Engagement and Retention, but not Workplace Function. J Occup Rehabil. 2022 Mar;32(1):77-86. doi: 10.1007/s10926-021-09983-6. Epub 2021 May 13.
citation: Shaw WS, Besen E, Pransky G, Boot CR, Nicholas MK, McLellan RK, Tveito TH. Manage at work: a randomized, controlled trial of a self-management group intervention to overcome workplace challenges associated with chronic physical health conditions. BMC Public Health. 2014 May 28;14:515. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-515.