Can vocational advice be delivered in primary care? The Work And Vocational advicE (WAVE) mixed method single arm feasibility study

Gwenllian Wynne‐Jones; Gail Sowden; Ira Madan; Karen Walker-Bone; Carolyn Chew-Graham; Benjamin Saunders; Martyn Lewis; Kieran Bromley; Sue Jowett; Vaughan Parsons; Gemma Mansell; Kendra Cooke; Sarah A. Lawton; Catherine Linaker; John Pemberton; Cyrus Cooper; Nadine E. Foster

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2025-098768

Can vocational advice be delivered in primary care? The Work And Vocational advicE (WAVE) mixed method single arm feasibility study

Gwenllian Wynne‐Jones^*
, Gail Sowden
, Ira Madan
, Karen Walker-Bone
, Carolyn Chew-Graham
, Benjamin Saunders
, Martyn Lewis
, Kieran Bromley
, Sue Jowett
, Vaughan Parsons
, Gemma Mansell
, Kendra Cooke
, Sarah A. Lawton
, Catherine Linaker
, John Pemberton
, Cyrus Cooper
, Nadine E. Foster

^*Corresponding author for this work

Keele University
Keele University, School of Medicine
University of Queensland

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Most patients with health conditions necessitating time off work consult in primary care. Offering vocational advice (VA) early within this setting may help them to return to work and reduce sickness absence. Previous research shows the benefits of VA interventions for musculoskeletal pain in primary care, but an intervention for a much broader primary care patient population has yet to be tested. The Work And Vocational advicE feasibility study tested patient identification and recruitment methods, explored participants' experiences of being invited to the study and their experiences of receiving VA.

DESIGN: A mixed method, single arm feasibility study comprising both quantitative and qualitative analysis of recruitment and participation in the study.

SETTING: Primary care.

METHODS: The study included participant follow-up by fortnightly Short Message Service text and 6-week questionnaire. Stop/go criteria focus on recruitment and intervention engagement. The semistructured interviews explored participants' experiences of recruitment and receipt and engagement with the intervention.

RESULTS: 19 participants were recruited (4.3% response rate). Identification of participants via retrospective fit-note searches was reasonably successful (13/19 (68%) identified), recruitment stop/go criteria were met with ≥50% of those eligible and expressing an interest recruited. The stop/go criterion for intervention engagement was met with 16/19 (86%) participants having at least one contact with a vocational support worker. Five participants were interviewed; they reported positive experiences of recruitment and felt the VA intervention was acceptable.

CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that delivering VA in primary care is feasible and acceptable. To ensure a future trial is feasible, recruitment strategies and data collection methods require additional refinement.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04543097.

Original language	English
Article number	e098768
Number of pages	15
Journal	BMJ Open
Volume	15
Issue number	12
Early online date	29 Dec 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-098768
Publication status	Published - 29 Dec 2025

Bibliographical note

Copyright © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Data Access Statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. All data are available on request, following Keele University’s data request process, by contacting the first author and [email protected].

Funding

NEF is funded through an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grant (ID: 2018182). CC-G is part funded by West Midlands Applied Research Collaboration (WM ARC). GW-J holds a post with the West Midlands Region Research Delivery Network. All other authors have no competing interests to declare. The WAVE trial was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme (NIHR 17/94/49). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

Keywords

Adult
Feasibility Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Musculoskeletal Pain/rehabilitation
Patient Selection
Primary Health Care
Return to Work
Surveys and Questionnaires
Vocational Guidance/methods

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10.1136/bmjopen-2025-098768Licence: CC BY 4.0

G Wynne-Jones et al_Can vocational advice be delivered in primary care_The Work And Vocational advicE (WAVE) mixed method single arm feasibility study
Copyright © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Final published version, 641 KBLicence: CC BY 4.0

Cite this

Wynne‐Jones, G., Sowden, G., Madan, I., Walker-Bone, K., Chew-Graham, C., Saunders, B., Lewis, M., Bromley, K., Jowett, S., Parsons, V., Mansell, G., Cooke, K., Lawton, S. A., Linaker, C., Pemberton, J., Cooper, C., & Foster, N. E. (2025). Can vocational advice be delivered in primary care? The Work And Vocational advicE (WAVE) mixed method single arm feasibility study. BMJ Open, 15(12), Article e098768. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-098768

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title = "Can vocational advice be delivered in primary care? The Work And Vocational advicE (WAVE) mixed method single arm feasibility study",

abstract = "OBJECTIVES: Most patients with health conditions necessitating time off work consult in primary care. Offering vocational advice (VA) early within this setting may help them to return to work and reduce sickness absence. Previous research shows the benefits of VA interventions for musculoskeletal pain in primary care, but an intervention for a much broader primary care patient population has yet to be tested. The Work And Vocational advicE feasibility study tested patient identification and recruitment methods, explored participants' experiences of being invited to the study and their experiences of receiving VA.DESIGN: A mixed method, single arm feasibility study comprising both quantitative and qualitative analysis of recruitment and participation in the study.SETTING: Primary care.METHODS: The study included participant follow-up by fortnightly Short Message Service text and 6-week questionnaire. Stop/go criteria focus on recruitment and intervention engagement. The semistructured interviews explored participants' experiences of recruitment and receipt and engagement with the intervention.RESULTS: 19 participants were recruited (4.3\% response rate). Identification of participants via retrospective fit-note searches was reasonably successful (13/19 (68\%) identified), recruitment stop/go criteria were met with ≥50\% of those eligible and expressing an interest recruited. The stop/go criterion for intervention engagement was met with 16/19 (86\%) participants having at least one contact with a vocational support worker. Five participants were interviewed; they reported positive experiences of recruitment and felt the VA intervention was acceptable.CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that delivering VA in primary care is feasible and acceptable. To ensure a future trial is feasible, recruitment strategies and data collection methods require additional refinement.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04543097.",

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note = "Copyright {\textcopyright} Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",

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Wynne‐Jones, G, Sowden, G, Madan, I, Walker-Bone, K, Chew-Graham, C, Saunders, B, Lewis, M, Bromley, K, Jowett, S, Parsons, V, Mansell, G, Cooke, K, Lawton, SA, Linaker, C, Pemberton, J, Cooper, C & Foster, NE 2025, 'Can vocational advice be delivered in primary care? The Work And Vocational advicE (WAVE) mixed method single arm feasibility study', BMJ Open, vol. 15, no. 12, e098768. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-098768

TY - JOUR

T1 - Can vocational advice be delivered in primary care? The Work And Vocational advicE (WAVE) mixed method single arm feasibility study

AU - Wynne‐Jones, Gwenllian

AU - Sowden, Gail

AU - Madan, Ira

AU - Walker-Bone, Karen

AU - Chew-Graham, Carolyn

AU - Saunders, Benjamin

AU - Lewis, Martyn

AU - Bromley, Kieran

AU - Jowett, Sue

AU - Parsons, Vaughan

AU - Mansell, Gemma

AU - Cooke, Kendra

AU - Lawton, Sarah A.

AU - Linaker, Catherine

AU - Pemberton, John

AU - Cooper, Cyrus

AU - Foster, Nadine E.

N1 - Copyright © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

PY - 2025/12/29

Y1 - 2025/12/29

N2 - OBJECTIVES: Most patients with health conditions necessitating time off work consult in primary care. Offering vocational advice (VA) early within this setting may help them to return to work and reduce sickness absence. Previous research shows the benefits of VA interventions for musculoskeletal pain in primary care, but an intervention for a much broader primary care patient population has yet to be tested. The Work And Vocational advicE feasibility study tested patient identification and recruitment methods, explored participants' experiences of being invited to the study and their experiences of receiving VA.DESIGN: A mixed method, single arm feasibility study comprising both quantitative and qualitative analysis of recruitment and participation in the study.SETTING: Primary care.METHODS: The study included participant follow-up by fortnightly Short Message Service text and 6-week questionnaire. Stop/go criteria focus on recruitment and intervention engagement. The semistructured interviews explored participants' experiences of recruitment and receipt and engagement with the intervention.RESULTS: 19 participants were recruited (4.3% response rate). Identification of participants via retrospective fit-note searches was reasonably successful (13/19 (68%) identified), recruitment stop/go criteria were met with ≥50% of those eligible and expressing an interest recruited. The stop/go criterion for intervention engagement was met with 16/19 (86%) participants having at least one contact with a vocational support worker. Five participants were interviewed; they reported positive experiences of recruitment and felt the VA intervention was acceptable.CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that delivering VA in primary care is feasible and acceptable. To ensure a future trial is feasible, recruitment strategies and data collection methods require additional refinement.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04543097.

AB - OBJECTIVES: Most patients with health conditions necessitating time off work consult in primary care. Offering vocational advice (VA) early within this setting may help them to return to work and reduce sickness absence. Previous research shows the benefits of VA interventions for musculoskeletal pain in primary care, but an intervention for a much broader primary care patient population has yet to be tested. The Work And Vocational advicE feasibility study tested patient identification and recruitment methods, explored participants' experiences of being invited to the study and their experiences of receiving VA.DESIGN: A mixed method, single arm feasibility study comprising both quantitative and qualitative analysis of recruitment and participation in the study.SETTING: Primary care.METHODS: The study included participant follow-up by fortnightly Short Message Service text and 6-week questionnaire. Stop/go criteria focus on recruitment and intervention engagement. The semistructured interviews explored participants' experiences of recruitment and receipt and engagement with the intervention.RESULTS: 19 participants were recruited (4.3% response rate). Identification of participants via retrospective fit-note searches was reasonably successful (13/19 (68%) identified), recruitment stop/go criteria were met with ≥50% of those eligible and expressing an interest recruited. The stop/go criterion for intervention engagement was met with 16/19 (86%) participants having at least one contact with a vocational support worker. Five participants were interviewed; they reported positive experiences of recruitment and felt the VA intervention was acceptable.CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that delivering VA in primary care is feasible and acceptable. To ensure a future trial is feasible, recruitment strategies and data collection methods require additional refinement.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04543097.

KW - Adult

KW - Feasibility Studies

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Musculoskeletal Pain/rehabilitation

KW - Patient Selection

KW - Primary Health Care

KW - Return to Work

KW - Surveys and Questionnaires

KW - Vocational Guidance/methods

UR - https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/12/e098768

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105026426922

U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-098768

DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-098768

M3 - Article

C2 - 41469060

SN - 2044-6055

VL - 15

JO - BMJ Open

JF - BMJ Open

IS - 12

M1 - e098768

ER -

Can vocational advice be delivered in primary care? The Work And Vocational advicE (WAVE) mixed method single arm feasibility study

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Access Statement

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

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