Impact of Covid-19 Restrictions on Individual Placement and Support Service Delivery in Northern Norway
Permanent link
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/27057Date
2022-09-17Type
Journal articleTidsskriftartikkel
Peer reviewed
Author
Wittlund, Sina Marion; Butenko, Daniil; Brandseth, Oda Lekve; Brinchmann, Beate; Killackey, Eóin; McDaid, David; Rinaldi, Miles; Mykletun, ArnsteinAbstract
Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is
an evidence-based supported employment program
that helps people with severe mental illness to achieve
steady, meaningful employment in competitive mainstream jobs. The purpose of this study is to investigate
the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on IPS service
delivery in Northern Norway between March and
October 2020. In Norway, IPS is in the early stages of
full-scale implementation and is therefore potentially
sensitive to external stressors such as the Covid-19
pandemic. In October 2020 we conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional survey with IPS employment
specialists in Northern Norway (n = 25). The purpose
was to collect information about how Covid-19
restrictions between March and October 2020
impacted their ability to deliver IPS services. As a
result of Covid-19 restrictions, more than half the
employment specialists were reassigned to other roles
or non-IPS related work tasks. They also reported less
collaborative engagement with clinical teams and
employers. 69 (20.4%) of IPS users supported by
employment specialists gained employment after the
Covid-19 restrictions were introduced and 82.8% of
unemployed IPS users continued to seek competitive employment despite Covid-19 restrictions. Covid-19
restrictions appear to have created obstacles for IPS
service delivery in Northern Norway and have negatively impacted the employment specialists’ collaborative engagement with clinical teams. However, IPS
employment specialists have shown strong capabilities in overcoming these challenges and services users
have remained motivated to seek employment during
the pandemic.
Publisher
SpringerCitation
Wittlund, Butenko, Brandseth, Brinchmann, Killackey, McDaid, Rinaldi, Mykletun. Impact of Covid-19 Restrictions on Individual Placement and Support Service Delivery in Northern Norway. Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health. 2022Metadata
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