Type of Project: Funded project Joint project Study
Goal-oriented return-to-work counseling: a multicenter controlled intervention study (ZOBRA)

Background: The central concern of medical rehabilitation measures is to regain the ability to work. In Germany, the rates of job reintegration after heart disease are about 20% to 30% below the return rates that can be expected from a medical point of view. In other own studies, 95% of the cases could be correctly classified about 6 months after the end of the rehabilitation measure by means of a few predictor variables collected at the beginning of rehabilitation (Schott 1996, Badura et al. 2001). To date, there is no structured screening and assessment procedure to improve job reintegration. Aims and objectives: The aim of the study is to develop and evaluate a screening and assessment instrument for goal-oriented counseling of cardiological rehabilitation patients. The research program can be summarized as follows: (1) The group of persons at increased risk of early retirement can be identified relatively easily with a screening procedure. (2) The respective individual problem situations can be specified by means of an assessment procedure. (3) Through a goal- and problem-oriented tailored support and counseling during the rehabilitation, return rates can be significantly increased. Study design: Effectiveness and efficiency of the entire procedure are examined by means of a multicenter, controlled research design and an incremental analysis. Screening will be used to identify at-risk patients and assign them to the intervention or control group on an alternating schedule (sample size N = 400 each). Measurement time points: T1 = start of rehab; T2 = 6 months after end of rehab; T3 = 12 months after end of rehab. Evaluation measures are employment and retirement status, physical and emotional status, and health-economically relevant variables. Results: The intervention group, in which goal- and problem-oriented tailored care is provided during rehab, shows a significant increase in the return rate compared to the control group. The intervention is an efficient alternative to the previous standard procedure. Research association NRW