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Effects of individualised follow‐up on activation programme participants' self‐sufficiency: A cluster‐randomised study
Author(s) -
MalmbergHeimonen Ira,
Tøge Anne Grete
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international journal of social welfare
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1468-2397
pISSN - 1369-6866
DOI - 10.1111/ijsw.12179
Subject(s) - cluster (spacecraft) , welfare , cluster randomised controlled trial , baseline (sea) , medicine , psychology , physical therapy , demography , randomized controlled trial , economics , political science , surgery , sociology , market economy , computer science , law , programming language
Recent developments within activation policies emphasise tailor‐made and individualised services; however, little is known of what the effects of these initiatives are. The aim of this study was, therefore, to analyse, in a cluster‐randomised design, the long‐term effects of an individualised follow‐up model on welfare recipients' self‐sufficiency. The follow‐up model systematises the work done by social workers within the Q ualification P rogramme, which is a welfare‐to‐work programme in N orway. In the study, 18 labour and welfare offices were randomised to experimental and control groups. The data consist of baseline questionnaires for Q ualification P rogramme participants ( n = 617) and follow‐ups based on administrative data at 12, 24 and 30 months after baseline. The results show significant effects of individualised follow‐up on self‐sufficiency at the 30‐month follow‐up and strong positive trends at the 18‐ and 24‐month follow‐ups. Thus, comprehensive and individualised follow‐up of participants within activation programmes seems to generate positive long‐term effects on self‐sufficiency.