The first aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the VEP program on the primary and secondary outcomes: Need for Recovery after work (NFR), sick leave, Communication Profile for the Hearing Impaired (CPHI), distress, work…
ID
Source
Brief title
Condition
- Hearing disorders
Synonym
Research involving
Sponsors and support
Intervention
Outcome measures
Primary outcome
1. Need for recovery after work (NFR) scale comprised 11 dichotmized items
assessing the short term effects of fatigue caused by work activities (Meijman
en Van Veldhoven, 1994) .
Secondary outcome
Coping of people with a hearing impairment will be measured by the
Communication Profile for the Hearing Impaired (CPHI) (Kramer et al., 1995;
Mokkink et al., 2008).
With the 4-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire (4DSQ) we measured the distress of
the participants (Terluin et al., 2004; Terluin et al., 2006).
The subscales 'decision latitude' (skill dicretion' and 'decison authority'),
'phychological job demands', 'physical job demands', 'supevisor social
support' and 'coworker social support' of the Job Control Questionnaire (JCQ)
to measure the psychosocial work characteristics (Karasek et al., 1998).
ASE-determinants (attitude, social influence, self-efficacy) will be measured
with questionnaires based on studies of Driessen et al., 2008 and Vyth et al.,
2011.
Quality of life will be measured by EQ-5D and VAS.
General Self Efficacy Scale (Bosscher et al., 1998) to measure the self
efficacy.
Direct and indirect costs will be measured with questionnaires:
Costs for sick leave will be measured subjective and objective.
PROductivity and DISease Questionnaire (PRODISQ) (Koopmanschap 2005) and the
Health and work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ) (Kessler et al., 2004) to
measure productivity and sick leave. We also measured the sick leave data as
registered by the company.
The health care costs will be measured with the questionnaire for Costs
associated with psychiatric illness (TIC-P).
Patient satisfaction of the participants of the intervention group will be
measured by the Patient Satisfaction with Occupational Health Services (PSOHQ)
(Verbeek et al., 2005).
Background summary
Hearing impairment is one of the most prevalence chronic disabilities. It has
significant negative effects on work performance and is associated with high
levels of need for recovery after work, sick leave and early retirement. These
consequences are related to high costs. Care as usual is insufficiently
equipped to effectively address the vocational difficulties of employees with
hearing problems. The Vocational Enablement Protocol (VEP) is a transmural
multidisciplinary care protocol aimend at maintaining, facilitating, or
improving the employment situation for people with hearing loss.
Study objective
The first aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the VEP
program on the primary and secondary outcomes: Need for Recovery after work
(NFR), sick leave, Communication Profile for the Hearing Impaired (CPHI),
distress, work productivity, self-efficacy, job content and general health
status.
The second aim is to determine whether the VEP program is cost-effective for
reducing Need for Recovery after work (NFR) compared with usual care.
The purpose of this study includes a description of the study protocol (design
article) as well as a process evaluation.
Study design
A randomized controlled trial will be performed with 80 participants in the
control (care as usual) and 80 participants in the treatment group (VEP).
Employees of 365/Arboned (e.g. Tata Steel) and KLM and VU university/ VU
medical center can participate in this study. Also patients of the ENT
doctors, hearing aid specialist and occupational physician will recruited in
the study. All participants give their informed consent. Outcomes will be
measured at baseline and after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months en consist of
questionnaires. The participants in the intervention group have to visit the
Audiological center of the VUmc.
Intervention
The VEP comprise a half-day assessment of complex problems at the Audiological
Center conducted by a team of professionals from different disciplines: E.N.T.
physician, audiologist, occupational physician, social worker, psychologist,
speech therapist. The patient's hearing status is assessed using an extensive
battery of audiotry tests, including pure-tone and speech audiometry, various
Speech-Reception-Treshold (SRT) tests (in quiet, in steady state noise and in
fluctuating noise) and -if indicated- a test for localization. To examine aided
hearing, a free-field version of the SRT in noise test is also performed.
Furthermore, a semi-structured interview is conducted by the psychologist
evaluating the psychosocial history of the person, their specific needs,
attitude and expectations and an evaluation of the problems at work from the
patient's perspective. Refferal information is taken into account. The
interview is attended by the occupational physician of the team to specifically
evaluate the work-related problems and to discuss the patient's view on
possible solutions and legal issues.
If indicated, the workplace itself is visited and is accoustically examined by
conducting a Speech-Transmission-Index (STI) measurement. The STI provides an
assessment of the intelligibility of speech in the workplace and verifies
whether speech is intelligible for the employee, given the hearing impairment
and the acousical conditions. The STI measures the combined effects of
background noise and reverberation.
At the end of the session, all test results are examined and considered by the
psychologist, specialized occupational physician, and the audiologist and
explained to the patient. Here, we identify the (mis)match between the audiotry
capacities of the employee and the audiotory demands at the workplace.
Possibilities of technical, speech-therapeutic and/or psychosocial
interventions are then discussed. We argue that a patient-centered approach
(i.e. involving the patient in the problem solving process) is crucial.
Study burden and risks
The intervention study will take three hours. In this time the participant will
do a audiological tests (non-invasive) and have some conversations in the
multidisciplinary team.
In addition participants will fill out some forms at 4 measuring moments. This
will take 30 minutes of each measuring moment.
The research is of no risk for the participants.
De Boelelaan 1118
Amsterdam 1007MB
NL
De Boelelaan 1118
Amsterdam 1007MB
NL
Listed location countries
Age
Inclusion criteria
1. Diagnosis with hearing impairment (i.e. mean pure-tone hearing loss at 1, 2 and 4 kHZ in best ear >25 dB HL) or a score of *insufficient* or *poor* on the National Hearing Test
2. Age above 18 years
3. Able to complete questionnaires written in Dutch language and capable of giving informed consent
4. Working for at least 8 hours a week
5. Available for the study for the following 12 months
Exclusion criteria
1. Not willing or unable to comply with the study protocol
2. Those who have already been referred to or passed a VEP in the last year
3. Those for whom tinnitus is the primary condition affecting the individual
4. Those who were pregnant
Design
Recruitment
Followed up by the following (possibly more current) registration
No registrations found.
Other (possibly less up-to-date) registrations in this register
No registrations found.
In other registers
| Register | ID |
|---|---|
| CCMO | NL34597.029.11 |