author: Rosen, M. I., Ablondi, K., Black, A. C., Mueller, L., Serowik, K. L., Martino, S., Mobo, B. H., & Rosenheck, R. A. 
year: 2014
title: "Work outcomes after benefits counseling among veterans applying for service connection for a psychiatric condition"
publisher: Psychiatric Services
uri: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201300478
pubtype: article
discipline: health

country: United States
period: 2008-2011
maxlength: 6
targeting: explicit
group: disabled
data: baseline, 3 follow-up surveys; timeline follow-back calendar

design: experimental
method: RCT
sample: 84
unit: individual
representativeness: local
causal: 1 # 0 correlation / 1 causal

theory:
limitations: can not locate active ingredient
observation:
  - intervention: counseling (benefits counseling)
    institutional: 0
    structural: 0
    agency: 1
    inequality: disability; age
    type: 1 # 0 vertical / 1 horizontal
    indicator: 0 # 0 absolute / 1 relative
    measures: hours worked (rtw)
    findings: counseling had significant increas on more waged days worked; on average 3 additional days worked in 28 days preceding measurement
    channels: not clear, neither belief about work, benefits, nor mental health/substance abuse service use increased significantly
    direction: 1 # -1 neg / 0 none / 1 pos
    significance: 2 # 0 nsg / 1 msg / 2 sg

notes:
annotation: |
  An experimental study on the impacts of benefits and vocational counseling for disabled veterans in the United States, measuring effects on the return to work through average hours worked.
  It identifies time worked through a timeline follow-back calendar, measuring the change in days worked in the 28 days preceding the final study measurement.
  Here, it finds the sessions having a significant increase on more waged days worked, with an additional three days for the 28 preceding days on average.
  One limitation is the inability of the study to locate an active ingredient:
  Though the intervention clearly aims at strengthening some aspect of individual agency, the exact mediators are not clear, with neither beliefs about work, beliefs about benefits, nor provided service use for mental health or substance abuse impacted significantly.