Reducing mental health-related sickness absences requires more collaboration and overcoming prejudices

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health media release 29 January 2025
 
Researchers from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and the University of Eastern Finland studied factors that promote and prevent the implementation of the MYÖTE operational model. The study has been published in the prestigious scientific journal BMC Health Services Research.

Even professionals may have prejudices about mental disorders

Significantly reducing recovery times has previously succeeded in other patient groups by enhancing the collaboration between public and occupational health care using the TYÖOTE operatoinal model. The MYÖTE operational model also enhances co-operation between psychiatric specialist health care and occupational health care.
 
"Even occupational health care professionals may have negative prejudices related to mental health disorders. It is important to focus on supporting the return to work of people suffering from mental health disorders with the same enthusiasm as, for example, after joint replacement surgery," says Chief Specialist Pirjo Juvonen-Posti.  There is also a need for support at workplaces, both from supervisors and colleagues.
 
"Unfortunately, the stigma or embarrassment often associated with mental health disorders and processing it must be taken into account when adopting the operational model more widely in the future. It is also particularly important to understand that there are several different parties and operators involved in the treatment of mental disorders, and the implementation of the model is not as straightforward as in orthopaedics," says Mikko Henriksson, Senior Specialist at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.
  
For example, different wellbeing services counties may have different ways of organizing mental health care and rehabilitation. Occupational health care professionals may not have a sufficient overview of how treatment is organized in their own wellbeing services county.

More co-operation is needed

The MYÖTE operational model focuses on developing co-operation in particular between psychiatric specialist health care and occupational health care using an electronic referral. However, the electronic referral practice is not yet ready everywhere, and the one-way practice still needs further development.
  
The treatment of mental disorders should therefore be developed as a whole, in a process that closely involves the relevant primary health care and rehabilitation parties. That is the best way to fulfill the role of occupational health care in co-ordinating work ability.
 
The various parties' shared belief in the usefulness of the MYÖTE operational model and trust in its developers promoted the deployment of the model. There was also trust in the ability of occupational health care personnel to assess and support returning to work.
 
The results of the study will be used in the expansion of the TYÖOTE model as part of the Mental Health Toolkit project, which is funded by Finland’s Sustainable Growth Programme. The study was funded by the European Social Fund (ESF).

Learn more about the study

• Referring psychiatric patients to occupational health services for earlier return to work - a qualitative implementation study of barriers and facilitators | BMC Health Services Research

More information about the TYÖOTE operational model (in Finnish)

• TYÖOTE operational model | The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health

Further information

• Mikko Henriksson, Senior Specialist, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, tel. +358 (0)50 501 0425, mikko.henriksson@ttl.fi
• Pirjo Juvonen-Posti, Chief Specialist, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, tel. +358 (0)43 824 3568, pirjo.juvonen-posti@ttl.fi