{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,14]],"date-time":"2026-06-14T08:56:43Z","timestamp":1781427403804,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,4]],"date-time":"2024-06-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1717459200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosmentalhealth.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLOS Ment Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n<jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>In Denmark, 50% of those on long-term sick leave are affected by common mental disorders (CMDs), and it has been argued that detection in primary care has been insufficient. The Mental Health Assessment Study (MeHAS) assesses if specialized mental health assessments can enhance return to work for this group. This study aimed to estimate the effect of a specialized mental health assessment for people on sick leave with a mental health disorder, on return to work and mental health care utilization.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n<jats:title>Methods and findings<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>In this experimental study, sickness absentees were referred from a sick leave benefit management agency. Before intervention allocation, they had already received a standard health assessment in general practice. The intervention group received an additional specialized mental health assessment, while the control group did not. We compared the groups on several vocational outcome measures, the primary being proportion in work after one year. Other outcomes were weeks in work, time to return to work (RTW) and different measures of service utilization. We included 717 in the intervention group and 756 in the control group. On the primary outcome, proportion in work, we observed no differences between the groups at 12 months (53.9% vs. 58.7% in the control group, p = 0.133). Moreover, after one year, the control group showed faster RTW at 12-month follow-up (HR 0.79, p&lt;0.001) and 3.1 more weeks in work (p&lt;0.001). In the intervention group, participants received more hospital-based outpatient mental healthcare.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n<jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Providing a specialized mental health assessment was associated with fewer weeks in work and longer sick leave duration (secondary outcomes), but the proportion in work at 12-month follow-up (primary outcome) did not differ between the groups. The intervention was associated with a higher likelihood of receiving specialized mental healthcare services, perhaps because more needs were met. Given the substantial risk of selection bias, results should be treated with caution.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmen.0000020","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,4]],"date-time":"2024-06-04T18:00:12Z","timestamp":1717524012000},"page":"e0000020","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pmen.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Does a specialized assessment improve vocational outcomes for people on sick leave with a suspected common mental disorder? Results from the Mental Health Assessment Study (MeHAS)"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"1","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9901-2674","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Andreas","family":"Hoff","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5321-6855","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Anders Bo","family":"Bojesen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jonas","family":"Fisker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rie","family":"Mandrup Poulsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carsten","family":"Hjorth\u00f8j","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Merete","family":"Nordentoft","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lene Falgaard","family":"Eplov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"476","DOI":"10.1093\/ije\/dyu038","article-title":"The global prevalence of common mental disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis 1980\u20132013","volume":"43","author":"Z Steel","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int J Epidemiol"},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1787\/9789264188631-en","volume-title":"Mental health and work: Denmark.","author":"OECD","year":"2013"},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1048","DOI":"10.4088\/JCP.12m07699","article-title":"Predictors of long-term return to work and symptom remission in sick-listed patients with major depression","volume":"73","author":"HL Hees","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Clinical Psychiatry"},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"474989","DOI":"10.1155\/2012\/474989","article-title":"Undetected common mental disorders in long-term sickness absence.","volume":"2012","author":"HJ Soegaard","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int J Family Med"},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"845","DOI":"10.1177\/1403494810379292","article-title":"The effect of detecting undetected common mental disorders on psychological distress and quality of life in long-term sickness absence: A randomised controlled trial.","volume":"38","author":"HJ S\u00f8gaard","year":"2010","journal-title":"Scand J Public Health"},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"375","DOI":"10.2147\/NDT.S11832","article-title":"Faster return to work after psychiatric consultation for sicklisted employees with common mental disorders compared to care as usual.","volume":"6","author":"CM van der Feltz-Cornelis","year":"2010","journal-title":"Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat"},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref007","article-title":"Hastened Psychiatric Assessment\u2014Evaluation of an experiment with hastened psychiatric assessment in the municipality of Odense, Denmark (Da. title: Hurtig psykiatrisk udredning\u2013Evaluering af fors\u00f8g med hurtig psykiatrisk udredning i Odense Kommune).","author":"The Danish Center for Social Science Research [ViVe].","year":"2020","journal-title":"VIVE\u2013Viden til Velf\u00e6rd Det Nationale Forsknings- og Analysecenter for Velf\u00e6rd"},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"134","DOI":"10.1136\/oemed-2021-107894","article-title":"Integrating vocational rehabilitation and mental healthcare to improve the return-to-work process for people on sick leave with depression or anxiety: results from a three-arm, parallel randomised trial.","volume":"79","author":"A Hoff","year":"2022","journal-title":"Occup Environ Med"},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref009","article-title":"Integrating vocational rehabilitation and mental health care to improve the return-to-work process for people on sick leave with stress-related disorders: results from a randomized trial.","author":"A Hoff","year":"2022","journal-title":"Scand J Work Environ Health."},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref010","first-page":"22","article-title":"The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.): The development and validation of a structured diagnostic 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of depression in older medical inpatients: a randomized trial.","volume":"174","author":"MG Cole","year":"2006","journal-title":"Can Med Assoc J"},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"479","DOI":"10.1177\/1403494820942074","article-title":"Assessing measurement equivalence of the Danish and Dutch Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire using differential item and test functioning analysis.","volume":"49","author":"B Terluin","year":"2021","journal-title":"Scand J Public Health"},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpsychires.2017.07.024","article-title":"Prognostic factors for return to work after depression-related work disability: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"95","author":"J Ervasti","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Psychiatr Res"},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref016","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"380","DOI":"10.1007\/s10488-019-00993-4","article-title":"Negotiating the Practical Meaning of Recovery in a Process of Implementation.","volume":"47","author":"M Hoej","year":"2020","journal-title":"Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research."},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref017","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.5334\/ijic.4694","article-title":"Developing Normative Integration among Professionals in an Intersectoral Collaboration: A Multi-Method Investigation of an Integrated Intervention for People on Sick Leave Due to Common Mental Disorders.","volume":"19","author":"RM Poulsen","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int J Integr Care."},{"key":"pmen.0000020.ref018","volume-title":"Hurtig psykiatrisk udredning\u2013Evaluering af fors\u00f8g med hurtig psykiatrisk udredning i Odense Kommune.","author":"ViVE","year":"2020"}],"container-title":["PLOS Mental 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