A paper published in the New Zealand Medical Journal on 6 September contains clear messages about the effectiveness of employment support in Aotearoa.
When people are able to access employment support using the individual placement and support (IPS) approach, they earn more money, hold onto jobs for longer, gain more qualifications and have more access to mental health supports and services. In short, it helps people to get on with their lives and improve their wellbeing.
Warren Elwin, Chief Executive of Work Counts says the study demonstrates both social impact and financial return. “The study is historically significant not just for the opportunity to provide findings and observations for the government’s social investment approach here in New Zealand, but also internationally where IPS employment support is present. It’s also as close to a randomised controlled trial (RCT) as you can get.”
The article, based on research conducted by the Ministry of Social Development, explains the impacts on key social indicators. This is the second of two evaluations. The first study from 2019 showed that IPS employment support is done well in New Zealand and that it’s effective.
This second stage of the research, which commenced in 2022, shows the impacts of effects on people and their life circumstances.
“We are keen to highlight and disseminate the findings as widely as we can. This study demonstrates what community services and Health New Zealand can achieve when working together, and shines a light on the benefits of expanding the availability of IPS employment support,” says Warren.
One of the researchers behind the paper, Dr Helen Lockett, says that for New Zealand, the research shows that IPS employment support not only makes a difference to people’s mental health and wellbeing, but financially it’s a great investment option.
“IPS employment support is not yet available to all who would like to access it and that’s the next important step we need to take,” says Helen.
Currently IPS employment support is offered in 12 out of 19 health districts, mainly alongside secondary mental health and addiction services. Although nationally the workforce is growing, some districts have as little as one full-time equivalent (FTE) supporting the area’s population.
To reveal the findings from the research, Work Counts will be hosting a new webinar on 17 September, where people can hear from lead researcher Moira Wilson, and reflect on how the learnings can be applied in practice.
People can register for the webinar “The impact of IPS employment support on employment, health, and social outcomes: evidence from Aotearoa” on the Work Counts website
Published on: 9 September 2024