RETAINWORKS Program for Disability
Recruiting in Palo Alto (17 mi)
Overseen byJill Berk, PhD
Age: 18+
Sex: Any
Travel: May Be Covered
Time Reimbursement: Varies
Trial Phase: Academic
Recruiting
Sponsor: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Disqualifiers: SSDI, SSI benefits, others
No Placebo Group
Approved in 1 Jurisdiction
Trial Summary
What is the purpose of this trial?This trial tests the RETAINWORKS program, which helps injured or ill workers stay in their jobs or return to work. It targets people at risk of leaving the workforce and needing public support. The program trains doctors, coordinates job and health services, and provides support from nurses and job experts, with financial rewards for progress.
Will I have to stop taking my current medications?
The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It is best to consult with the trial coordinators or your healthcare provider for guidance.
What data supports the effectiveness of the RETAINWORKS treatment for disability?
The RETAIN Kentucky program, part of the RETAINWORKS initiative, has shown promise in helping people with disabilities stay in the workforce by using strategies tailored to their employment status. Additionally, early intervention programs that focus on retaining jobs for workers with medical conditions have been found to positively affect long-term employment outcomes.
12345Is the RETAINWORKS Program for Disability safe for humans?
The available research on the RETAINWORKS Program, including its variations like RETAIN Kentucky, focuses on strategies to help people return to work after injury or illness. There is no specific safety data mentioned, but the program involves coordination and support rather than medical treatments, suggesting it is generally safe for participants.
23678How does the RETAINWORKS treatment differ from other treatments for disability?
The RETAINWORKS program is unique because it focuses on helping people with disabilities stay in or return to work by providing personalized support and resources, rather than relying on medical treatments alone. It involves Return-to-Work Coordinators who assist individuals in navigating employment challenges, making it distinct from traditional medical or rehabilitation approaches.
12389Eligibility Criteria
The RETAINWORKS trial is for individuals aged 18-65 in Kansas who are employed or seeking employment and have a new or worsening health condition affecting their work. Conditions may include musculoskeletal injuries, mental health issues, chronic diseases like diabetes, COPD, CHF, among others. Participants must not be receiving or applying for SSDI/SSI benefits due to the injury or illness.Inclusion Criteria
My condition is new or a worsening chronic issue affecting my work.
Has a work disability defined as an injury, illness, or medical condition that inhibits or prevents continued employment
My disability affects my ability to work or be productive at work.
+2 more
Exclusion Criteria
May NOT have application for SSDI or SSI benefits pending or already receiving such benefits at the onset of the injury or illness
Trial Timeline
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
2-4 weeks
Initial Intake and Randomization
Participants undergo initial intake by a nurse navigator and are randomly assigned to either the treatment or control group
1 week
Intervention
The experimental group receives the full set of RETAINWORKS intervention activities, including SAW/RTW coordination services and workplace-based interventions
12 months
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for employment outcomes and application for SSDI or SSI during the 12 months after enrollment
12 months
Participant Groups
RETAINWORKS aims to help people with disabilities stay in the workforce by providing medical services and coordination support. The study will assess how well these services work in Kansas by looking at participants' job retention and productivity after they receive assistance from the program.
2Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
Group I: RETAIN ProgrammingExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
The experimental group receives the full set of RETAINWORKS intervention activities.
Group II: ControlActive Control1 Intervention
The control group receives information and referral to partner services.
Find a Clinic Near You
Research Locations NearbySelect from list below to view details:
Kansas Department of CommerceTopeka, KS
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Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.Lead Sponsor
The United States Social Security AdministrationCollaborator
References
A Framework for Understanding How Variation in Health Care Service Delivery Affects Work Disability Management. [2022]Introduction Differences in disability duration after work injury have been observed across jurisdictions, regions and urban and rural settings. A key aspect of effective disability management is the access and utilization of appropriate and high quality health care. This paper presents a framework for analyzing and thus understanding how health service spending and utilization vary across and within work disability management schemes and affect work disability management. Methods Our framework was developed through a literature review and policy analysis. Existing frameworks describing geographic variation in general health care systems identified factors believed to drive that variation. A review of policy and practice documents from Canada's no-fault cause-based work disability management system identified factors relevant to work disability systems. Results We expand on previous frameworks by taking a systems approach that centers on factors relevant to the work disability management system. We further highlight predisposing, enabling, workplace environment and need-based factors that could lead to variation in health care spending and utilization across and within jurisdictions. These factors are described as shaping the interactions between workers, health care providers, employers and work disability management system actors, and influencing work disability management health and employment outcomes. Conclusion Our systems-focused approach offers a guide for researchers and policymakers to analyze how various factors may influence spending and utilization across regions and to identify areas for improvement in health care delivery within work disability management systems. Next steps include testing the framework in an analysis looking at geographic variation in spending and utilization across and within Canadian work disability management systems.
RETAIN Kentucky: A return-to-work and stay-at-work program for people with disabilities grounded in the conservation of resources theory. [2022]This article, the first in the Return-to-Work (RTW) Corner series, summarizes a comprehensive RTW and Stay-at-Work (SAW) program in Kentucky, which is funded by the United States Department of Labor. The program, Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network: Kentucky (RETAIN Kentucky), focuses on RTW and SAW strategies, depending upon participants' employment status at the time of enrollment in the project. RETAIN Kentucky services are implemented by RTW Coordinators (RTWCs) who help people with non-work-related injuries and illnesses continue in the workforce. The first Phase of RETAIN Kentucky, which lasted for nearly 3 years, is now informing the Phase 2 intervention, which began in October 2021 and will enroll participants for 30 months. In this article, we outline the employment retention problem that RETAIN Kentucky addresses, describe the key features and services of the program, summarize our findings so far, and present future directions for Phase 2.
Opportunities for Early Intervention to Avoid Prolonged Work Disability: Introduction to the Special Section. [2019]Purpose The articles in this special section examine opportunities for early intervention that is intended to retain the jobs of workers who have medical conditions that could put them at risk of prolonged work disability. Methods The first three articles examine options for analyzing various types of disability claims data for targeting early intervention; the fourth article provides new information from 50 case studies on how employers decide to invest in the retention of individual workers. Results Together, the four articles demonstrate that there may be an opportunity to positively affect longer-term outcomes for workers with medical conditions. This would be accomplished by building and expanding on existing systems in order to efficiently identify, and provide timely support to, workers with medical conditions in a critical period during which the decisions and actions of various stakeholders, including the workers themselves, may have a major influence on these outcomes. Conclusions Forthcoming opportunities to develop, implement, and test evidence-based interventions to promote job retention can provide further insight into the value of the options described in the articles.
Return to work coordination programmes for work disability: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. [2021]The dramatic rise in chronically ill patients on permanent disability benefits threatens the sustainability of social security in high-income countries. Social insurance organizations have started to invest in promising, but costly return to work (RTW) coordination programmes. The benefit, however, remains uncertain. We conducted a systematic review to determine the long-term effectiveness of RTW coordination compared to usual practice in patients at risk for long-term disability.
Prediction of failure to retain work 1 year after interdisciplinary functional restoration in occupational injuries. [2012]To identify risk factors for work retention (a patients' ability to both obtain and retain employment) at 1 year after treatment for a chronic disabling occupational musculoskeletal disorder (CDOMD).
Return-to-Work Program for Injured Workers: Factors of Successful Return to Employment. [2018]This study examined the factors of successful return to employment among participants in the return to work program (RTW) following work-related injury. Data were obtained from the Social Security Organization database containing 9850 injured workers who underwent RTW in 2010 to 2013. About 65% had successfully returned to employment. Significant factors of successful return include gender, employer interest, motivation, age, intervention duration, and type of injury. Male and motivated employees were more likely to return to employment compared with female and unmotivated employees, respectively. Participants from interested employers were 23.22 times more likely to return to work than those from uninterested employers, whereas participants whose intervention period exceeded 5 months were 41% less likely to return to work compared with those whose intervention period was within 3 months. Appropriate strategy and enhanced collaboration between the stakeholders would improve the proportion of successful return to employment.
Employer Policies and Practices to Manage and Prevent Disability: Foreword to the Special Issue. [2022]Purpose Employer policies and practices have been shown to impact workplace disability, but research in this area has waned in recent years despite an aging workforce, a growing prevalence of chronic health conditions, and a larger proportion of working-age adults on permanent work disability in many jurisdictions. The purpose of this article is to describe the background rationale and methodology for an invited conference designed to improve research of employer strategies to curtail work disability. Methods A multidisciplinary team of 26 international researchers with published research in employer-based disability management or related fields were invited to attend a 3-day conference in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA. The overall goal was to review the status of current research of workplace disability management and prevention, examine its relevance for employer decision-making, compare conceptual frameworks or theoretical perspectives, and recommend future research directions. Working groups were organized and draft manuscripts were prepared in advance. Conference activities included working group presentations and critiques, discussions with a panel of industry consultants and advisors, group interaction and debate, generation of final recommendations, and manuscript revision. Results/Conclusion Six principal domains were established with respect to future research: (a) further elucidation of the key workplace factors that buffer the disabling effects of injury and illness; (b) more innovative and feasible options for workplace intervention; (c) measurement of workplace-relevant disability outcomes; (d) a stronger theoretical framework for understanding the factors behind employer uptake and implementation; (e) a focus on special clinical populations and occupations where disability risk is most troubling; and (f) better representation of workers and employers that reflect the diverse and changing nature of work. Final comments and recommendations of the working groups are presented in the following six articles in this special issue of the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. Conference attendees recommended changes in methodology, collaboration strategies, and theoretical perspectives to improve the practical and scientific impact of future research of employer practices.
Employers' Perspectives on Accommodating and Retaining Employees with Newly Acquired Disabilities: An Exploratory Study. [2019]Introduction Timely and appropriate accommodations can help employees who experience disabilities stay at work instead of exiting the labor force. Employers can play a critical role in connecting such workers with the accommodations they need. This qualitative study seeks to inform policy makers who want to improve workforce retention outcomes by uncovering factors that affect whether employers provide accommodations to, and ultimately retain, employees with disabilities. Methods We conducted semistructured interviews with a convenience sample of human resources professionals in 14 Arkansas-based employers, yielding detailed information on 50 cases in which an employee developed or disclosed a disability. We analyzed the interviews using a grounded theory approach and compared cases to identify key themes emerging across subgroups of cases. Results Two organization-level factors and four employee-level factors influenced employers' efforts to accommodate and retain employees with disabilities: employer resources; employers' communication with the employee and other stakeholders; employee tenure; employee work performance; active/sedentary nature of employee role; and the severity and type of employees' health conditions. Conclusions Consistent with prior literature, employers with greater access to resources and better ability to communicate generally made greater effort to accommodate and retain employees with disabilities. However, employers in the study did not deploy these resources and processes consistently when making decisions about whether and how to provide accommodations to workers with disabilities; employee-level characteristics affected their actions. Policy makers should consider intervention approaches that reach workers who may be overlooked by employers with scarce resources.
Tortoise or hare? Supporting the chronotope preference of employees with fluctuating chronic illness symptoms. [2019]Our aim is to understand how to facilitate the job retention of employees with chronic illness. We focus on multiple sclerosis (MS) as a criterion chronic illness.