“Individual Placement and Support” Provides Advantages for Early Psychosis Clients
Poster C53, Wednesday, October%2010, 11:30%20am%20-%201:00%20pm, Essex%20Ballroom
David Erickson1,2, David Whitehurst3,4, Meighen Roes2, Alessandra Digiacomo2; 1Fraser Health, 2University of British Columbia, 3Simon Fraser University, 4Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute
Purpose: Although the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) strategy has achieved ‘gold standard’ status for enhancing employment among older clients in the later stages of mental illness, the nature and timing of its contributions to younger clients in the early stages of illness is less understood. This randomized controlled trial assesses the effectiveness of the IPS model of employment support in a population-based sample of early-psychosis clients. Methods: We have recruited 109 clients from the Fraser Health Early Psychosis program; 55 clients received one year of IPS support and 54 received ‘treatment as usual’ (TAU). A variety of employment, clinical, and service-use outcomes were assessed at 6- and 12-months; this presentation describes employment outcomes. Results: Over 12 months, clients who received IPS in addition to TAU more often worked (80%) than did those receiving TAU alone (60%; chi-square = 4.50, p = .03). However, there was no significant difference in the number of days worked (58.7 days in IPS, versus 46.4 in TAU; p = .33). Conclusions: When EPI clients are ready to look for work many are successful, compared to clients in later stages of illness. In our early psychosis clients, IPS increased the likelihood of getting work, but did not significantly affect job tenure. Further analyses will assess the nature and timing of differential employment outcomes attributable to IPS.
Topic Area: Psychosocial Interventions