Process Evaluation of a Workplace Integrated Care Intervention for Workers with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Purpose To perform a process evaluation of the implementation of a workplace integrated care intervention for workers with rheumatoid arthritis to maintain and improve work productivity. The intervention consisted of integrated care and a participatory workplace intervention with the aim to make adaptations at the workplace. Methods The implementation of the workplace integrated care intervention was evaluated with the framework of Linnan and Steckler. We used the concepts recruitment, reach, dose delivered, dose received, fidelity and satisfaction with the intervention. Data collection occurred through patient questionnaires and medical records. Results Participants were recruited by sending a letter including a reply card from their own rheumatologist. In total, we invited 1973 patients to participate. We received 1184 reply cards, and of these, 150 patients eventually participated in the study. Integrated care was delivered according to protocol for 46.7 %, while the participatory workplace intervention was delivered for 80.6 %. Dose received was nearly 70 %, which means that participants implemented 70 % of the workplace adaptations proposed during the participatory workplace intervention. The fidelity score for both integrated care and the participatory workplace intervention was sufficient, although communication between members of the multidisciplinary team was limited. Participants were generally satisfied with the intervention. Conclusions This process evaluation shows that our intervention was not entirely implemented as intended. The integrated care was not delivered to enough participants, but for the intervention components that were delivered, the fidelity was good. Communication between members of the multidisciplinary team was limited. However, the participatory workplace intervention was implemented successfully, and participants indicated that they were satisfied with the intervention.