ORIGINAL PAPER
Protecting and promoting mental health of nurses in the hospital setting:
Is it cost-effective from an employer’s perspective?
1, 2 1 | Trimbos Institute (Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction), Utrecht, the Netherlands
(Department of Public Mental Health) |
2 | Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
(Department of Health Services Research, CAPHRI School of Public Health and Primary Care) |
3 | Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
(Coronel Institute of Occupational Health) |
4 | VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
(Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research) |
5 | VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
(Department of Clinical Psychology, EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research) |
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Cindy Noben
Maastricht University, Department of Health Services Research, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, the Netherlands
Maastricht University, Department of Health Services Research, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, the Netherlands
Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2015;28(5):891–900
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
occupational health servicesworkability assessment (fitness for work)disability and workassessment of the impact of working conditions on work capability and workers’ health (fitness for work)physiological effects of workload (physical and mental workload)occupational stressworkers well-being
ABSTRACT
Objectives: Nurses are at elevated risk of burnout, anxiety and depressive disorders, and may then become less productive. This begs the question if a preventive intervention in the work setting might be cost-saving from a business perspective. Material and Methods: A
cost-benefit analysis was conducted to evaluate the
balance between the
costs of a
preventive
intervention among nurses at elevated risk of mental health complaints and the
cost offsets stemming from improved productivity. This evaluation was conducted alongside a
cluster-randomized trial in a
Dutch academic hospital. The
control
condition consisted of screening without feedback and unrestricted access to usual care
(N
=
206). In the
experimental condition screen-positive nurses received personalized feedback and referral to the
occupational physician
(N
=
207). Results: Subtracting intervention costs from the
cost offsets due to reduced absenteeism and presenteeism resulted in net-savings
of
244
euros per nurse when only absenteeism is regarded, and
651
euros when presenteeism is also taken into account. This
corresponds to a
return-on-investment of
5
euros up to
11
euros for every euro invested. Conclusions: Within half a
year,
the
cost of offering the
preventive intervention was more than recouped. Offering the
preventive intervention represents
a
favorable business case as seen from the
employer’s perspective.
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