Affiliations: Department of Health Sciences, Division of Occupational Therapy and Gerontology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden | The Swedish Institute for Health Sciences, Vårdal Institute, Lund University, Lund, Sweden | Public Employment Office, Eslöv, Sweden
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Ulrika Bejerholm, Division of Occupational Therapy and Gerontology, Lund University, P.O. Box 157, SE 221 00 Lund, Sweden. Tel.: +46 46 222 1958; E-mail: ulrika.bejerholm@med.lu.se
Abstract: Individual Placement and Support (IPS) results in more people with severe mental illness obtaining employment in comparison to traditional vocational rehabilitation approaches. The implementation challenges of IPS vary across countries and contexts. However, the implications for IPS delivery and thus the IPS principles have not been studied in Sweden, which this embedded case study aims to investigate. The study was bounded by a single case, which was equivalent to the implementation of IPS in a Swedish city over 18 months. Data was collected from multiple units of information and consisted of interviews, documents and audio materials. A content analysis was used. The results showed that the first four IPS principles were challenged by the welfare system. Work capacity, in terms of amount of working hours per week, was evaluated differently in IPS and in the welfare system's prevocational services. In addition, the type of welfare benefit was decisive for IPS delivery and could be withdrawn if the IPS participant did not enter the prevocational rehabilitation situated within the welfare service. The differences of vocational approaches as experienced by professionals led to frustration, but also positive statements regarding how to increase integration between the welfare services and IPS. The authors discuss the tangible result and suggestive recommendations are made.
Keywords: Vocational rehabilitation, individual placement and support, return to work, mental illness
