Seventy-seven patients participated in a group intervention programme counselled by the occupational health service personnel in a randomized controlled trial. The educational programme was inspired by personal construct theory that calls attention to the human capacity to redefine and reconstruct the meaning of any situation or symptom. A significant reduction in psychological distress was obtained at treatment completion and at 1-year follow-up. At follow-up a significant group × work status interaction effect was found, and also a mean reduction of distress among both working and non-working participants in the intervention group, whereas in the control group only those who received disability benefits reported a reduction in psychological distress. Distress at baseline significantly predicted work status at follow-up. An intervention programme such as the one applied in this study may reduce distress and help patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain to remain in their jobs.
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Haugli et al. (2003) studied this question.
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