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NCT Number: NCT07206316

Health-economic Evaluation of the IPS (Individual Placement and Support) Model for Helping People With Severe Mental Disorders Access Employment in the Ordinary Labor Market, Compared to Standard Methods of Helping People Return to Work: a Prospective Real-life Study

The Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model was developed in the United States in the 1990s to help people with severe mental health issues get back into regular jobs. This model is based on the idea that a quick job search that takes into account what patients want, followed by ongoing and intensive support in the community, is especially good for this group. To date, although the effectiveness of the IPS model has been widely demonstrated (for a review, see Metcalfe et al., 2018), only a few studies have evaluated its efficiency in foreign contexts (Knapp et al., 2013; Christensen et al., 2020).

Although the IPS model has been in place in France for around ten years, no studies have yet been conducted to validate its efficiency in the French healthcare system.

The main objective of this prospective, real-life, multicenter study is to evaluate the efficiency of the IPS practice model compared to the conventional method of follow-up by social workers for patients with severe mental illness in terms of cost per additional day worked, from a collective perspective.

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Key information

Conditions

Severe Mental Disorders Mental Disorders

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

CH Cesame, Angers, France

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Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Aged ≥ 18 years
  • Participant with a chronic psychiatric disorder causing significant functional impairment
  • Unemployed
  • Wishing to return to competitive employment in the open labor market
  • Informed about the study and consenting to participate
  • Able to read french

Exclusion criteria

  • Individuals not eligible for legal employment due to irregular residency status in France
  • Individuals not affiliated with a social security system
  • Individuals wishing to work in a sheltered/protected setting
  • Individuals currently enrolled in a training program
  • Individuals refusing to participate in the study

Treatment and study plan

Individual Placement and Support Model

Other

The Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model is an employment support program specifically designed for people with severe mental illness (Bond, Drake, & Becker, 2012). The core philosophy of IPS is that anyone can obtain competitive employment in the open labor market, provided it is the right job combined with appropriate support.

IPS support is delivered by a job coach, specifically trained in this model, who devotes their entire working time to assisting patients in their vocational integration.

Standard method

Other

In psychiatric wards, patients who wish to do so are usually offered support to initiate the process of returning to competitive employment in the open labor market. This assistance is provided by the social workers (such as social workers or educators) within the care unit.

Primary outcomes

  1. Efficiency of the IPS practice model compared to the conventional method of follow-up by social workers for patients with severe mental illness

    Time frame: 18 months

    Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) expressed as cost per additional day worked at 18 months, from a collective perspective, of the IPS practice model in patients with severe mental disorders.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Efficiency of the IPS model compared to the conventional method of monitoring by social workers among patients with severe mental illness

    Time frame: 18 months

    Incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR) expressed as "cost/QALY gained at 18 months, from a collective perspective, of the IPS model in patients with severe mental disorders.

  2. Cost-benefit ratio of the IPS practice model compared to the conventional method of follow-up by social workers for patients with severe mental illness,

    Time frame: 18 months

    Benefit-cost ratio of the IPS model compared to the conventional method of follow-up by social workers at 18 months, from a societal perspective, among patients with severe mental illness

  3. Budgetary impact on the French national health insurance system (AM) of changes in clinical practices with regard to the two types of support for returning to work.

    Time frame: 5 years

    Budgetary impact for the Health Insurance system per year and over 5 years of the evolution of practices with regard to the two types of support for return to work

  4. Compare work productivity and activity disorders between the two groups.

    Time frame: 0, 6, 12 and 18 months

    Comparison of scores on the questionnaire on work productivity and activity impairment (French version of the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment, WPAI)

  5. Compare the rate of hospital care use between the two groups.

    Time frame: 18 months

    Comparison of the number of hospitalizations, number of visits to psychiatric emergency rooms, and number of day hospital visits between the two groups

  6. Impact of a return to work on patients' level of recovery and overall health.

    Time frame: 18 months

    Comparison of scores on a clinical scale of recovery and overall health (French version of the Recovery Assessment Scale, RAS) between the two groups

  7. Impact of a return to work on patients' level of social cognition.

    Time frame: 18 months

    Comparison of scores on the ACSo clinical social cognition scale between the two groups

  8. Impact of a return to work on patients' cognitive functioning

    Time frame: 18 months

    Comparison of scores on the clinical cognitive functioning scale (French version of the Subjective Scale to Investigate Cognition in Schizophrenia, SSTICS) between the two groups

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Helen CLERY

CONTACT

[email protected]

2 47 47 75 17 ext. +33

Jérôme GRAUX

CONTACT

[email protected]

247473756 ext. +33

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University Hospital, Tours

Other

Registry information

Acronym: MEDECO-IPS

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2030
Study completion
2030
First posted
Oct 3, 2025
Registry last updated
Oct 3, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

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This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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