Workplace Treatment
of Depressed Workers Benefits Employers
[Posted 10/02/07]
A study published in the
September 26 issue of the Journal of the American
Medical Association found that depressed workers
who participated in workplace treatment programs
that used case managers to promote effective
treatment saw significant improvements in workplace
outcomes as well as clinical outcomes. According to
its authors, the study suggests that many employers
would experience a positive return on investment
from outreach and enhanced treatment of depressed
workers.
“Usually,
healthcare benefits are viewed by the people who
purchase them—employers—as just a cost. They assume
that whatever cost they spend on workers’
health, they won't see anything back,”
said Dr. Philip S. Wang, lead author of the study
and director of the division of services and
intervention research at the National Institute of
Mental Health.
“One
of the implications of our findings is that
employers-purchasers would actually see a return on
their investment and may be better able to conceive
of benefits to workers, particularly vis-à-vis
depression, as kind of an opportunity. You put
something in, and you will get something back. This
is a different model from how employers view mental
healthcare and healthcare in general.”
According to background information in the study,
depression is among the most costly of all health
problems for employers, accounting for tens of
billions of dollars of lost productivity in the
United States each year. And while treatment is
known to be effective, many depressed workers are
under-treated or not treated at all.
The trial examined the impact of depression
screening, vigorous outreach, and care management of
depressed workers employed by a number of large
national firms.
“By
design, we wanted the intervention to be both
feasible and very inexpensive,”
Wang said.
The primary outcomes included improved job
retention, decreased absence due to sickness, and
increased work productivity as well as relief from
the symptoms of depression.
Related Links:
JAMA Article
US News & World Report
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