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Research Health Sciences Community and Occupational Medicine
University Medical Center Groningen

Supporting employment among people receiving disability benefits

Researcher: Straatsma, J
Project leaders:
Research period: 2014-2018
Financier: -

Summary:

The number of people receiving disability benefits due to long-term reduced work capacity has increased during the last decades. In the Dutch social security system, sick listed workers may apply for disability benefits after they have been on continued sick leave for two years. The disability benefit assessment is conducted at the Dutch Social Security Institute (SSI). Those claimants receive re-integration support by the SSI to return to work.

Many claimants with remaining earning capacity are not working. A multidisciplinary rehabilitation program combined with the re-integration by the SSI may improve their functioning and remove barriers.

Multidisciplinary rehabilitation programs aim at restoring functioning through increasing physical activity level, reinforcement of health behaviors and modification of irrational beliefs. Offering a combined reintegration and rehabilitation program may help to identify and find solutions to overcome barriers for recovery and facilitatereturn to work.

The aim of this study is to develop and evaluate the (cost-) effectiveness of a combined reintegration and rehabilitation program (‘R&R program’) in claimants with long-term reduced work capacity.

The (cost-) effectiveness of the R&R program will be examined in a randomized controlled trial with a follow-up of 12 months. The results of the R&R program will be compared to the care-as-usual, a standard reintegration program administered by the SSI.

Last modified:26 February 2015 11.52 a.m.