Implementation of Individual Placement and Support in Italy: The Reggio Emilia Experience.

Individual placement and support (IPS) is an evidence-based intervention helping people with mental illness to obtain competitive jobs. In the last decade, European mental health leaders were interested on its implementation. Aim of the study was to assess the IPS feasibility in Italian patients with moderate-to-severe mental illness. To date, no evaluation of IPS has been conducted exclusively in Italy. Participants (n = 95) were clients of community mental health centers of the Reggio Emilia Department of Mental Health. In addition to drop-out rates, we calculated job acquisition, job duration, and total hours per week worked. A crude competitive employment rate of 41.1% and a crude drop-out rate of 30.5% were found over 42-month follow-up period. Using a Kaplan-Meyer survival analysis, the cumulative employment rate increased up to 44% at 12 months and 61% both at 24 and 42 months. This study documents the feasibility of an implementation strategy for introducing the IPS model in the public mental health care system in Italy.

Individual placement and support in Italian young adults with mental disorder: Findings from the Reggio Emilia experience.

AIM: Individual placement and support (IPS) has a considerable body of evidence for its effectiveness in helping people with mental disorder to achieve and maintain competitive jobs. However, little data in young adult populations are currently available, especially in Europe. Aim of this study was to assess the effect of IPS in Italian young adults with moderate-to-severe mental illness, examining the main competitive employment outcomes and drop out rates during a 3-year follow-up period. METHODS: Participants (n = 54) were recruited from patients receiving psychiatric treatment in one of the seven adult Community Mental Health Centers of the Reggio Emilia Department of Mental Health. Together with drop out rates, we investigated job duration (total number of days worked), job acquisition (employment in the labour market for at least 1 day during the follow-up), total hours per week worked, and job tenure (weeks worked on the longest-held competitive job). RESULTS: A crude competitive employment rate of 40.7% and a crude drop out rate of 22.2% over the 3-year follow-up period were found. However, 66% of 42 clients who remained in the program over 3 years gained competitive employment at some time during the 3-year period. CONCLUSIONS: This research shows the feasibility of an IPS intervention model in the public mental health care system in Italy, especially for a young adult target population.