Pre-vocational therapy in mental health. Clients' desired and achieved productivity status

Abstract

Background

Knowledge about work-related occupational therapy in psychiatric inpatient and day hospital clients is limited.

Aims

The aim of the study was to explore the desired and achieved productivity status in mental health service users participating in a pre-vocational therapy (PVT) intervention. Outcome variables were productivity status and achievement of desired productivity status at discharge, and change or persistence of productivity status between admission and discharge.

Methods

This is a short-term prospective study based on observational data from health records (N = 98).

Results

At admission, 53.2% of participants named a clear desired productivity status; 46.8% did not. Of the former, 76.9% expressed a desire for employment or education on the regular job market; 28.0% achieved their desired outcome at discharge, whereas 72.0% did not. Overall, 58.5% retained, established or increased productive activities, while 41.5% were not engaged in or had reduced productive activities at discharge. These two groups differed in socio-economic and social-security-related characteristics, treatment-related characteristics and psychiatric diagnosis.

Conclusions and significance

Some, but not all kinds of clients in acute psychiatric inpatient and day hospital settings manage to take a first step towards productive activities during the first phase of treatment.

Keywords:

• Achievement of outcomes
• acute mental illness
• chart review
• productivity
• work-related occupational therapy interventions

Acknowledgements

F.R. and D.S. are employed by the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich. The authors received no specific funding for this work. This study was developed based on a master’s thesis for the European Master of Occupational Therapy programme. The authors thank Sonja Niklaus, who supported the revision of the manuscript by conducting a literature search, and two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions and comments.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.