West Midlands Combined Authority Health-led Trial
Research type
Research Study
Full title
West Midlands Combined Authority Health-led Trial
IRAS ID
229616
Contact name
Stephen Bevan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Work and Health Unit
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
The West Midlands Combined Authority is working with NHS England, the Department of Work and Pensions and the Department of Health to trial a new model for providing health and employment support in one service. The aim is to test whether this model can deliver improvements in people’s employment, health and wellbeing. The trial is referred to locally as the ‘Thrive into Work’ trial.
The new service involves Employment Specialists working one-to-one with people to help them find a job and then support them once they find work. It is expected to be implemented in Sandwell and West Birmingham, Birmingham and South Central, Dudley and Wolverhampton.
The programme will be evaluated using a randomised control trial, which means that, on referral, individuals will be randomly allocated to either a treatment group or a control group (support as usual). The evaluation is being conducted by independent researchers appointed and funded by the Department of Work and Pensions. The programme is funded by the Work and Health Unit (a joint Department of Work & Pensions and Department of Health unit) and NHS England. The evaluation will run from October-2017 to March-2019.
The new service is based on the “Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model”. IPS services are already used and well-evidenced internationally and have been shown to be effective for people with severe mental illness in community mental health settings. The new service aims to test whether a modified version of the IPS model will work in other health settings and for a broader group of service users.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/EE/0364
Date of REC Opinion
23 Oct 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion