Enhancement of Quality of Work And Life

Launched by RADBOUD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · Aug 23, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial, called "Enhancement of Quality of Work And Life," is exploring ways to help people with certain movement disorders—like Parkinson's Disease and ataxia—stay employed and improve their quality of life. The study is looking at a program called the Participatory Workplace Intervention (PWI), which aims to provide personalized support to help individuals balance their work and life better. By focusing on early assistance for those who want to keep working, the trial hopes to show that such support can enhance work participation and overall well-being.

To participate in this trial, individuals must be between 18 and 65 years old, have a confirmed diagnosis of one of the targeted movement disorders, and be working at least 8 hours a week. Participants should also be willing to discuss their work challenges with their employers, although they don't have to disclose their diagnosis. The trial lasts 18 months and involves remote sessions, meaning participants can engage from home. This study is currently recruiting, and it offers a chance to contribute to important research that could help improve work-life balance for many people facing these conditions.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • having a diagnosis Parkinson Disease, cerebellar ataxia, hereditairy spastic paraparesis, or a slowly progressive neuromuscular or mitochondrial disorder, confirmed by the treating physician (e.g. neurologist, rehabilitation physician)
• • aged 18-65 years;
• • being employed for at least 8 hours per week (at baseline). This also includes individuals who have reduced their working hours until reaching this threshold of 8 hours per week. Working time may be distributed across multiple working days;
• • having the intention to continue to work during the study period of 18 months, to prevent inclusion of participants who plan to retire within the 18-month RCT period;
• • being open to talk to the employer or manager about any changes or limitations in work performance (disclosing the diagnosis is not required, by law).
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • individuals who are at the beginning of a sick leave procedure (under the Gatekeeper Improvement Act; Wvp);
• • being fully self-employed. Partial self-employment in addition to paid employment is allowed, on the condition that the paid employment accounts for more than half of the total weekly working hours;
• • having a second employer for over eight hours per week;
• • proficiency in the Dutch language is not sufficient;
• • severe comorbidity or health-related event that will hamper compliance to the protocol, e.g. in case of a severe cognitive impairment, a relatively abrupt transition to a very progressive manifestation of the disease, a planned surgery.