Motivational interviewing in long-term sickness absence: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial followed by qualitative and economic studies

Lene Aasdahl, Vegard Stolsmo Foldal, Martin Inge Standal, Roger Hagen, Roar Johnsen, Marit Solbjør, Marius Steiro Fimland, Heidi Fossen, Chris Jensen, Gunnhild Bagøien, Vidar Halsteinli, Egil Andreas Fors, Lene Aasdahl, Vegard Stolsmo Foldal, Martin Inge Standal, Roger Hagen, Roar Johnsen, Marit Solbjør, Marius Steiro Fimland, Heidi Fossen, Chris Jensen, Gunnhild Bagøien, Vidar Halsteinli, Egil Andreas Fors

Abstract

Background: Motivational interviewing (MI), mainly used and shown effective in health care (substance abuse, smoking cessation, increasing exercise and other life style changes), is a collaborative conversation (style) about change that could be useful for individuals having problems related to return to work (RTW). The aim of this paper is to describe the design of a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of MI on RTW among sick listed persons compared to usual care, in a social security setting.

Methods: The study is a randomized controlled trial with parallel group design. Individuals between 18 and 60 years who have been sick listed for more than 7 weeks, with a current sick leave status of 50-100%, are identified in the Norwegian National Social Security System and invited to participate in the study. Exclusion criteria are no employment and pregnancy. Included participants are randomly assigned to the MI intervention or one of two control groups. The MI intervention consists of two MI sessions offered by caseworkers at the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Service (NAV), while the comparative arms consist of a usual care group and a group that receives two extra sessions without MI content (to control for attentional bias). The primary outcome measure is the total number of sickness absence days during 12 months after inclusion, obtained from national registers. Secondary outcomes include time until full sustainable return to work, health-related quality of life and mental health status. In addition, a health economic evaluation, a feasibility/process evaluation and qualitative studies will be performed as part of the study.

Discussion: A previous study has suggested an effect of MI on RTW for sick listed workers with musculoskeletal complaints. The present study will evaluate the effect of MI for all sick listed workers, regardless of diagnosis. The knowledge from this study will potentially be important for policy makers, clinicians and other professionals` practical work.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03212118 (registered July 11, 2017).

Keywords: Case management; Mental health; Musculoskeletal diseases; Occupational health; Return to work; Sick leave.

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study is approved by the Regional Committees for Medical and Health Research Ethics in South East Norway (No: 2016/2300) and the trial is registered in clinicaltrials.gov. All participants are given information about the study and will sign a consent form in order to be included.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

HF is employed at the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Service (NAV). The other authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Design of the study. MI: motivational interviewing

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