Prevention of sickness absence through early identification and rehabilitation of at-risk patients with musculoskeletal disorders (PREVSAM): short term effects of a randomised controlled trial in primary care

Purpose: To evaluate short-term effects of the PREVention of Sickness Absence for Musculoskeletal disorders (PREVSAM) model on sickness absence and patient-reported health outcomes. Methods: Patients with musculoskeletal disorders were randomised to rehabilitation according to PREVSAM or treatment as usual (TAU) in primary care. Sickness absence and patient-reported health outcomes were evaluated after three months in 254 participants. Results: The proportion of participants remaining in full- or part-time work were 86% in PREVSAM vs 78% in TAU (p=0.097). The PREVSAM group had approximately four fewer sickness benefit days during three months from baseline (p range 0.078-0.126). No statistically significant difference was found in self-reported sickness absence days (PREVSAM 12.4 vs TAU 14.5; p=0.634), nor were statistically significant differences between groups found in patient-reported health outcomes. Both groups showed significant improvements from baseline to three months, except for self-efficacy, and only the PREVSAM group showed significantly reduced depression symptoms. Conclusions: The findings suggest that for sickness absence, the PREVSAM model may have an advantage over TAU, although the difference did not reach statistical significance at the p<0.05 level, and similar positive effects on patient-reported health outcomes were found in both groups. Long-term effects must be evaluated before firm conclusions can be drawn.