Second advisory board meeting online on 17 November 2021

The second advisory board meeting took place on 17 November 2021, this time online due to coronavirus. The meeting took place in a very pleasant atmosphere with many stimulating and informative discussions. After a brief welcome, the effects of the pandemic and the status of the focus groups were briefly presented. The five participating rehabilitation centers then reported on their experiences and individual circumstances. After the final presentation of the recruitment status and the sample, the meeting flowed smoothly into a very constructive and informative discussion. All participants can be seen on the screenshot. Similar to the first advisory board …

The first interview block

The first of four interview rounds was completed in October 2021. These focus groups and individual interviews were conducted on site at the rehabilitation centers. Patient groups as well as employees, team leaders and medical directors were interviewed. Many thanks to all participants for these very personal insights into their working and private lives. Every single rehabilitation center had a very special way of welcoming me and my student assistants. Thank you very much for your warmth and excellent organization, everything went as planned. Thanks also go to the documentation assistants of the study. The student assistants are now very …

Preparations for the interviews are in full swing

In September the time has finally come for the first interviews to be conducted in the clinics. We are currently in the “hot phase” of organization and planning. Thanks to the close and excellent cooperation with the documentation assistants and their expertise and commitment, our entire preparation phase has gone smoothly so far. The interview periods and the majority of the clinic’s internal test subjects have been finalized. The application phase for student assistants for the subsequent transcription work is currently going very well. Now a little fine-tuning here and there and September can come!

The documentation assistant

The documentation assistants recruit the WMR rehabilitants in the rehabilitation centers, document, provide information, organize and also act as a link to us project staff. In addition to this diverse range of tasks, all documentation assistants regularly reflect and optimize their processes. The current situation makes many things more difficult, but only motivates the women in these positions even more. We are very grateful for the great cooperation, communication, independence, openness and the really good work.  We all meet regularly via video conference to discuss concerns, questions and problems, but also to share good experiences and exchange ideas.  

Publication of the study protocol

Our first project publication, the study protocol, has been published. The publication can be accessed via the DOI linked below. Markus, M., Gabriel, N., Bassler, M. et al. Work-related medical rehabilitation in patients with mental disorders: the protocol of a randomized controlled trial (WMR-P, DRKS00023175). BMC Psychiatry 21, 225 (2021). doi: 10.1186/s12888-021-03181-7

First advisory board meeting on 12 February 2020 in Berlin

The study advisory board met for the first time in Berlin on 12 February 2020. In addition to patients, the advisory board includes the research team, the medical directors and other contact persons from the six participating rehabilitation centers, representatives of the pension insurance providers and scientists from the data monitoring committee. After getting to know each other, the first advisory board meeting focused on presenting the study. The updated requirements profile for medical-occupational rehabilitation was then discussed. This was followed by presentations of the rehabilitation concepts of the six study centers. This was followed by a joint discussion, which …