Evaluation of a Group Therapy for Work-Related Mental Disorders.

Objectives: Work-related mental distress is one of the most dominant reasons for sick leave and early retirement. Specialized therapy programs for work-related mental health problems are rare, especially in a group setting. This study evaluates the severity of depression, anxiety, somatization and burnout symptoms before and after a work-related group therapy program. Methods: Patients of a psychosomatic outpatient clinic with work-related mental disorders completed 12 sessions of a manual-based group training with reference to the workplace. Data were collected using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15), General Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) before (T1) and directly after the intervention (T2). Results: Overall, 48 participants completed the intervention. The participants' symptoms of depression (T1: M = 11.06, SD = 6.19, T2: M = 8.92, SD = 8.17; p < 0.001, d = 0.53) and anxiety (T1: M = 9.94, SD = 5.18, T2: M = 7.13, SD = 5.69; p = 0.001, d = 0.49) as well as their emotional exhaustion (T1: M = 4.63, SD = 0.95, T2: M = 4.05, SD = 1.35; p < 0.001, d = 0.55) decreased significantly, and the difference was clinically relevant at T2. For cynicism (T1: M = 3.93, SD = 0.99, T2: M = 3.70, SD = 1.32; p = 0.14, d = 0.22) and personal fulfillment at work (T1: M = 4.30, SD = 0.83, T2: M = 4.41, SD = 0.94; p = 0.24, d = 0.17), the difference between T1 and T2 was not significant. Women benefited more than men (PHQ-9: p < 0.001, d = 0.96; GAD-7: p < 0.001, d = 0.91; PHQ-15: p < 0.001, d = 0.76) from the training. Conclusions: Participants' mental health symptoms were substantially reduced during the course of the work-related group therapy. As mental health problems account for the largest group of work disability days, the potential of group therapy should be better exploited in health care services.

Association of cultural origin and migration status with work-related mental health of migrants and refugees in Europe: a systematic review protocol.

IntroductionMigrants make up a significant proportion of the European working population. Previous studies have already shown that migrants and refugees often suffer from poor work-related conditions in the host country, which might have an impact on mental health. Thus, the main objective of this systematic review is to analyse and summarise existing research on work-related conditions of migrants and refugees in Europe and to investigate the relationship of these conditions with their mental health. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Three electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO and CINAHL) will be systematically searched for eligible articles using quantitative study designs (randomised controlled trials, cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies with and without control groups) written in English, German, French, Italian, Polish, Spanish or Turkish and published from 1st January 2016 onwards. The primary health outcomes will be diagnosed psychiatric and psychological disorders, suicide and suicide attempts, psychiatric and psychological symptoms, and perceived distress. The secondary health outcomes will be more general concepts of mental health such as well-being, life satisfaction and quality of life. Outcome measures must have been assessed by validated questionnaires. Screening of all articles, reference lists of included studies and relevant reviews as well as data extraction will be performed independently by two review authors. Methodological quality of primary studies will be assessed and discussed. The results of the primary studies will be summarised descriptively. Migrants and natives, migrants and refugees, migrants of different cultural backgrounds and migrants living in different host countries will be compared in terms of the association between their work-related conditions and their mental health. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This systematic review is excluded from ethical approval because it will use previously approved published data from primary studies. The results of this review will be submitted to a related peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021244840.