Repeated short-term sick-leave and quality of life. An evaluation of a clinical socio-medical intervention.

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate a clinical socio-medical supportive program for repeated short-term sickleavers who exhibited no evident reason for their prolonged absence. Attention was drawn to changes in the quality of life of the participants. Ninety-nine persons took part in the full program. The sex distribution was even and the mean age was 32 years. The average number of days of sick-leave during the year preceding the entrance into the program was 28. The most common self-stated diagnosis was upper respiratory infection or gastro-intestinal problems. The evaluation showed a significant change for the better in the quality of life and well-being of the patients, although more than every other patient did not explicitly attribute any personal benefit to the intervention itself. The results coincide irrespective of measuring method and, are by and large, consistent over most areas of life and components of well-being assessed. Thus the design and the results of the evaluation look very promising concerning reliability, validity and especially sensitivity. A corresponding model may be applicable more generally when evaluating health- and medical care.