Providing Job Guidance to Unemployed Patients as a Part of Healthcare can Help

Providing job guidance to the unemployed patients as a part of healthcare can help improve these patient’s well being. The findings of this study are published in the journal of Annals of Family Medicine. "Employment status is a key social determinant of health or a social aspect that impacts our well-being," said Dr. Andrew Pinto, a family physician and researcher in The Upstream Lab at C-UHS. "Our goal with this research was to look at how healthcare settings can assist patients with gaining employment, and which strategies work best."

To identify the key features of interventions where healthcare organizations supported patients in gaining employment, Dr. Pinto, who is also an assistant professor at the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, and his team conducted a systematic review of studies of interventions within healthcare settings that aimed to help patients find jobs. They identified 88 studies that met the study's criteria.

The literature revealed that most interventions were successful, and of these, the average gain in any type of employment with support from healthcare organizations was 51%. The research also revealed which factors made interventions most effective for patients to gain employment.

The five key factors common in successful interventions were:

• A multidisciplinary intervention team - A team composed of both health-care workers and employment specialists who have open communication were more likely to meet patient employment needs.
• A package of services for patients - Offering patients expert advice, a job search, feedback, networking, education, training, and peer mentorship made them more successful in their job search.
• One-on-one services, tailored to the patient - Interventions that were tailored to the person's preferences, skills, education, and previous work experiences were most impactful.
• A comprehensive view of social needs - Interventions that took a holistic approach to address other social determinants of health, such as housing, were more successful in helping patients find jobs.
• An intervention team that works with employers - Communication with employers proved to be important. With clear communication between the intervention team and employers, both parties could ensure that specific needs, such as accommodation for disabilities, were met.

"We recognize that these interventions may not be possible for all organizations," Dr. Pinto said. "Our study can assist with the design of successful employment interventions that are realistic. Certain team-based primary care organizations have the opportunity to develop a pathway for patients dealing with unemployment."

At St. Michael's, this work informed a pilot study through which patients with precarious employment at the St. Michael's Family Health Team received employment support and intervention. Dr. Pinto and his team are currently analyzing this data.

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Source-Eurekalert