Development of a Job Retention Vocational Rehabilitation Intervention for People with Multiple Sclerosis Following the Person-Based Approach.
Blanca De Dios Pérez, Roshan das Nair, Kathryn Radford
PMID 38418389WHAT IT FOUND
A new job retention programme for multiple sclerosis was designed with patients and clinicians.
It involves up to 10 hours of tailored support over three months, focusing on reasonable adjustments, symptom management, and legal rights.
Key findings
01The intervention was developed through two phases: a systematic review and interviews to create guiding principles, followed by stakeholder feedback to refine the logic model.
02Stakeholders recommended that the intervention be delivered by Occupational Therapists or Psychologists, with a focus on individual rather than group support.
03The final intervention design includes a three-month timeline with up to 10 hours of support, including an initial interview, goal setting, and a final review appointment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This is an intervention development study, not a trial. It reports no outcomes on whether the intervention actually helps people keep their jobs. Phase 2 stakeholders included only three people with multiple sclerosis, and their clinical and employment data were not collected. The healthcare professional group in Phase 2 was predominantly Occupational Therapists (six of seven), which may bias the design toward OT-led models. The study did not test the intervention's effectiveness; the authors note a separate single-case series found improved goal attainment, but that data is not reported here.
Declared interests
Blanca De Dios Pérez received funding from the Neurology Academy for a lecture. Roshan das Nair received funding from Novartis, Biogen, and Merck for lectures. The work was supported by Joan-Browne Legacy Funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this paper as evidence that the intervention works. It describes how the programme was designed using stakeholder feedback, not the results of testing that programme with patients.