Affiliations: Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation,
Division of Occupational Therapy, Umeå University, Umeå,
Sweden | Department of Social Work, Umeå University,
Umeå, Sweden | Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund,
Sweden | Department of Clinical Science, Division of
Psychiatry, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Ulla Nygren, MSc, %OTR, PhD-student,
Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Division of Occupational
Therapy, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. Tel.: +46 90 786
9102; E-mail: ulla.nygren@occupther.umu.se
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: People with disabilities find it harder to enter the
labour market than people without disabilities and those with a mental illness
are, in relation to people with other disabilities, employed at an essentially
lower extent. Many are effectively helped by the vocational rehabilitation
model Individual Placement and Support (IPS), but there are still many
individuals left in undesired unemployment. This study investigates potential
predictors of the vocational outcomes of a one-year follow up of IPS in the
north of Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: The participants were 65 men and women, mostly younger
than 30 years of age diagnosed with a mental illness (predominantly with a
diagnosis of anxiety and/or depression). METHODS: Baseline data related to sociodemographic and clinical
characteristics of the client, the client's own perceptions of every day living
and participation, self-esteem and quality of life, as well as the quantity of
employment support, were investigated using analyses of logistic regression.
RESULTS: Of three identified potential predictors, only psychiatric
symptoms remained significant in the multivariate logistic regression analyses.
A lower level of symptoms increased the odds with 5.5 for gaining employment
during one year. CONCLUSIONS: Careful investigation of how psychiatric symptoms
influence clients' occupational performance is of importance. By understanding
essential aspects of the relationships between the clients' individual
characteristics, the rehabilitation context and the vocational outcomes, more
appropriate and effective interventions may be offered to the individual
client.
