Department of Surgery, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States.
JMIR Res Protoc. 2024 Nov 26;13:e62715. doi: 10.2196/62715.
Employment plays an important role in the maintenance of mental and physical health. Losing a job creates emotional distress, which can, in turn, interfere with effective job seeking. Thus, a program for job seekers that provides support for both the logistics of job seeking as well as emotional distress may help people find employment and improve emotional well-being.
This study aims to test the efficacy of the 6-week intervention for job seekers in a randomized controlled trial.
This is a parallel-assignment randomized control trial comparing a 6-week return-to-work intervention versus job seeking as usual for a stratified sample of job seekers (n=150). The intervention will be delivered through a mobile phone app and scheduled video counseling sessions with a job coach. Assessments will be taken weekly during the intervention as well as 8 and 16 weeks later. The intervention and control group procedures will be administered remotely, allowing the study to take place in several regions of the United States. Eligible participants will be adults aged 18 to 65 years, currently unemployed, and actively searching for work. Participants will be recruited from 7 major metropolitan areas in the United States using online advertisements on Craigslist. The primary outcome measure is the Job Search Behavior Scale, which has 2 subscales, preparatory job search behavior and active job search behavior. Employment status will also be assessed throughout the trial. A mixed-model regression analysis will be used to compare job searching behavior in the intervention group versus the control group. A time-to-event analysis (ie, survival analysis) will be used to compare employment status in the 2 experimental groups. Secondary outcomes will also be evaluated, including job search self-efficacy and mental health-related outcomes such as anxiety and depression.
This study started on August 7, 2023, and as of June 2024, we have enrolled 140 participants. Enrollment began in August 2023 and will conclude by October 2024. Half of the participants (75/150, 50%) will be assigned to the intervention arm while the other half (75/150, 50%) will be assigned to the control arm, job seeking as usual.
The findings from this study will determine the efficacy of a mobile app-based intervention that uses both job training and psychological techniques on job seeking and employment outcomes. This first trial of Distress Return-to-Work Intervention (DRIVEN) will provide important information about blended support techniques for unemployed individuals, determine the usefulness of mobile apps to address large-scale mental health outcomes, and improve our understanding of the relationship between depression and unemployment status.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06026280; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06026280.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/62715.
就业在维护身心健康方面发挥着重要作用。失业会带来情绪困扰，而情绪困扰反过来又会干扰有效的求职。因此，为求职者提供求职后勤支持和情绪困扰支持的项目可能有助于人们找到工作并改善情绪健康。
本研究旨在通过随机对照试验检验求职者 6 周干预的效果。
这是一项平行分配的随机对照试验，比较了 6 周的重返工作岗位干预与求职的常规做法，对分层的求职者样本（n=150）进行了比较。该干预将通过手机应用程序和与职业教练预约的视频咨询进行。在干预期间以及 8 周和 16 周后每周进行评估。干预组和对照组的程序将远程进行，允许该研究在美国的多个地区进行。符合条件的参与者将是年龄在 18 至 65 岁之间、目前失业且正在积极寻找工作的成年人。参与者将通过美国 7 个主要大都市区的在线 Craigslist 广告招募。主要结局测量是求职行为量表，该量表有 2 个子量表，准备性求职行为和主动性求职行为。整个试验期间还将评估就业状况。将使用混合模型回归分析比较干预组和对照组的求职行为。将使用生存分析（即生存分析）比较两组的就业状况。还将评估次要结局，包括求职自我效能感和焦虑、抑郁等心理健康相关结局。
本研究于 2023 年 8 月 7 日开始，截至 2024 年 6 月，我们已招募了 140 名参与者。招募于 2023 年 8 月开始，将于 2024 年 10 月结束。一半的参与者（75/150，50%）将被分配到干预组，而另一半（75/150，50%）将被分配到对照组，常规求职。
这项研究的结果将确定一种基于移动应用程序的干预措施的效果，该干预措施同时使用工作培训和心理技术来改善求职和就业结果。这是对困扰重返工作岗位干预（DRIVEN）的首次试验，将提供有关失业人员混合支持技术的重要信息，确定移动应用程序解决大规模心理健康问题的有用性，并增进我们对抑郁与失业状况之间关系的理解。
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06026280；https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06026280。
国际注册报告标识符（IRRID）：DERR1-10.2196/62715。
