Superiority and cost-effectiveness of Individual Placement and Support versus standard employment support for people with alcohol and drug dependence: a pragmatic, parallel-group, open-label, multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial

Background

Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is a specialist intervention to help people attain employment in the open competitive labour market. IPS has been developed in severe mental illness and other disabilities, but it is of unknown effectiveness for people with alcohol and drug dependence. The Individual Placement and Support-Alcohol and Drug (IPS-AD) is the first superiority trial to evaluate effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.

Methods

IPS-AD was a pragmatic, parallel-group, multi-centre, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial of standard employment support (treatment-as-usual [TAU]) versus IPS. IPS was offered as a single episode for up to 13 months. The study was done at seven community treatment centres for alcohol and drug dependence in England. Study participants were adults (18-65 years), who had been enrolled for at least 14 days in treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD), opioid use disorder (OUD), or another drug use disorder (DUD; mostly cannabis and stimulants); were unemployed or economically inactive for at least six months; and wished to attain employment in the open competitive labour market. After random allocation to study interventions, the primary outcome was employment during 18-months of follow-up, analysed by mixed-effects logistic regression, using multiple imputation for the management of missing outcome data. There were two cost-effectiveness outcomes: a health outcome expressed as a quality adjusted life year (QALY) using £30,000 and £70,000 willingness-to-pay [WTP] thresholds; and additional days of employment, with a WTP threshold of £200 per day worked. The study was registered with ISRCTN (ISRCTN24159790) and is completed.

Findings

Between 8 May 2018 and 30 September 2019, 2781 potentially eligible patients were identified. 812 were excluded before screening, and 1720 participants were randomly allocated to TAU or IPS. In error, nine participants were randomised to study interventions on two occasions-so data for their first randomisation was analysed (modified intention-to-treat). A further 24 participants withdrew consent for all data to be used (full-analysis set therefore 1687 participants [70.1% male; mean age 40.8 years]; TAU, n = 844; IPS, n = 843 [AUD, n = 610; OUD, n = 837; DUD, n = 240]). Standard employment support was received by 559 [66.2%] of 844 participants in the TAU group. IPS was received by 804 [95.37%] of 843 participants in the IPS group. IPS was associated with an increase in attainment of employment compared with TAU (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.29; 95% CI 1.02-1.64; p-value 0.036). IPS was effective for the AUD and DUD groups (OR 1.48; 95% CI 1.14-1.92; p-value 0.004; OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.03-2.04, p-value 0.031, respectively), but not the OUD group. IPS returned an incremental QALY outcome gain of 0.01 (range 0.003-0.02) per participant with no evidence of cost-effectiveness at either WTP threshold-but QALY gains were cost-effective for the AUD and DUD groups at the £70,000 WTP threshold (probability 0.52 and 0.97, respectively). IPS was cost-effective for additional days of employment (probability 0.61), with effectiveness relating to the AUD group only (probability >0.99). Serious Adverse Events were reported by 39 participants (13 [1.5%] of 844 participants in the TAU group and 23 [2.7%] of 43 participants in the IPS group). There was a total of 25 deaths (1.5%; 9 in the TAU group and 16 in the IPS group)-none judged related to study interventions.

Interpretation

In this first superiority randomised controlled trial of IPS in alcohol and drug dependence, IPS helped more people attain employment in the open competitive labour market than standard employment support. IPS was cost-effective for a QALY health outcome (£70,000 WTP threshold) for the AUD and DUD groups, and for additional days of employment for the AUD group (£200 per day worked WTP threshold).

Funding

UK government Work and Health Unit.

The Liverpool alcohol-related liver disease algorithm identifies twice as many emergency admissions compared to standard methods when applied to Hospital Episode Statistics for England

BACKGROUND

Emergency admissions in England for alcohol-related liver disease (ArLD) have increased steadily for decades. Statistics based on administrative data typically focus on the ArLD-specific code as the primary diagnosis and are therefore at risk of excluding ArLD admissions defined by other coding combinations.

AIM

To deploy the Liverpool ArLD Algorithm (LAA), which accounts for alternative coding patterns (e.g., ArLD secondary diagnosis with alcohol/liver-related primary diagnosis), to national and local datasets in the context of studying trends in ArLD admissions before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

We applied the standard approach and LAA to Hospital Episode Statistics for England (2013-21). The algorithm was also deployed at 28 hospitals to discharge coding for emergency admissions during a common 7-day period in 2019 and 2020, in which eligible patient records were reviewed manually to verify the diagnosis and extract data.

RESULTS

Nationally, LAA identified approximately 100% more monthly emergency admissions from 2013 to 2021 than the standard method. The annual number of ArLD-specific admissions increased by 30.4%. Of 39,667 admissions in 2020/21, only 19,949 were identified with standard approach, an estimated admission cost of £70 million in under-recorded cases. Within 28 local hospital datasets, 233 admissions were identified using the standard approach and a further 250 locally verified cases using the LAA (107% uplift). There was an 18% absolute increase in ArLD admissions in the seven-day evaluation period in 2020 versus 2019. There were no differences in disease severity or mortality, or in the proportion of admissions with decompensation of cirrhosis or alcoholic hepatitis.

CONCLUSIONS

The LAA can be applied successfully to local and national datasets. It consistently identifies approximately 100% more cases than the standard coding approach. The algorithm has revealed the true extent of ArLD admissions. The pandemic has compounded a long-term rise in ArLD admissions and mortality.

Towards a paradigm shift in pediatric rehabilitation: Accelerating the uptake of evidence on participation into routine clinical practice

PURPOSE

Evidence for the importance of focusing on participation to promote health and wellbeing in childhood-onset disability exists, but practice is slow to change. This paper provides a knowledge translation roadmap to accelerate uptake of participation evidence into day-to-day practice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A structured roadmap to guide knowledge translation initiatives for implementing participation-based practices in co-creation with service users was developed based on elements from: the Five-factorframework for predicting implementation outcomes, the Cultural Cone framework, and the Knowledge-to-Action model.

RESULTS

Guiding principles paired with examples of multi-component knowledge implementation strategies to facilitate readiness for change by stakeholders at the micro (e.g., client/family, service providers), meso (e.g., administrators within organisations such as rehabilitation centres, hospitals, schools) and macro (e.g., local and governmental policy, regulatory bodies) levels are introduced. Solution-based strategies are provided to facilitate "readiness to change" for each stakeholder group. The strategies are examples for successful implementation of evidence-based interventions/approaches that can be contextualized across settings.

CONCLUSIONS

The knowledge translation roadmap can assist children and families, service providers, administrators, and policymakers to bridge existing knowledge-to-practice gaps surrounding participation. Partnering and collaborating through a "family-clinician-manager-community leader-policymaker" synergy is key for achieving strategic practice change focussed on participation.Implications for RehabilitationSound evidence surrounding the topic of participation, including effective assessments and interventions, is available and ready for use.Shifting towards participation-focused practices for children and youth with disabilities requires a systemic multi-level KT approach.Our Participation-KT roadmap, comprised of a framework and a list of principles and strategies for implementation, can be used to guide all stakeholders to foster a shift in practice.Forming partnerships and working collaboratively with all stakeholders is key for successful implementation.

Community participation patterns among preschool-aged children who have received Part C early intervention services

BACKGROUND

We examined activity-specific patterns and child, family and environmental correlates of participation restriction in nine community-based activities among preschoolers with disabilities who have received Part C early intervention services.

METHODS

Data were gathered from a subsample of 1509 caregivers whose children (mean age = 67.7 months) had enrolled in the National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS) and completed a 40-min computerized telephone interview or 12-page mailed survey. Data were analysed on cases with complete data on the variables of interest. Bivariate relationships were examined between variables, including patterns of co-reporting participation difficulties for pairs of community activities.

RESULTS

Caregivers were more than twice as likely to report difficulty in one activity (20%) than difficulties in 2-3, 4-5, or 6-9 activities. Co-reporting paired difficulties was strong for activities pertaining to neighbourhood outings but less conclusive for community-sponsored activities and recreation and leisure activities. Our data show strong and positive associations between child functional limitations in mobility, toileting, feeding, speech, safety awareness, and friendships and participation difficulty in 7-9 activities. Lower household income was associated with participation difficulty in 7 out of 9 activities and difficulty managing problematic behaviour was strongly associated with participation difficulty in all 9 activities. Each of the three environmental variables (limited access to social support, transportation and respite) was associated with participation restrictions in all nine activities.

CONCLUSION

Results provide practitioners with detailed descriptive knowledge about modifiable factors related to the child, family and environment for promoting young children's community participation, as well information to support development of a comprehensive assessment tool for research and intervention planning to promote community participation for children enrolled in early intervention.

School participation, supports and barriers of students with and without disabilities

BACKGROUND

We compared school participation patterns of students ages 5-17 with and without disabilities and examined whether features of the school environment were perceived to help or hinder their participation.

METHODS

Parents (n = 576) residing in the USA and Canada completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth (PEM-CY) via the internet.

RESULTS

Parents of students with disabilities reported that their children participated less frequently in school clubs and organizations and getting together with peers outside the classroom and that they were less involved in all school activities. Parents of students with disabilities also were significantly more likely to report that features of the environment hindered school participation and that resources needed to support their child's participation were not adequate.

CONCLUSIONS

Parents of students with disabilities report that their children are participating less in important school-related activities. Barriers limiting school participation include features of the physical and social environment as well as limited resources.