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Trial registered on ANZCTR


Registration number
ACTRN12614001166662
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
20/10/2014
Date registered
6/11/2014
Date last updated
6/11/2014
Type of registration
Prospectively registered

Titles & IDs
Public title
The impact of a compensation claims process change on injured workers' perception of service quality in the state of Victoria, Australia.
Scientific title
The impact of a compensation claims process change on injured workers' perception of service quality in the state of Victoria, Australia.
Secondary ID [1] 285503 0
NIL
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
U1111-1162-8394
Trial acronym
Linked study record

Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Work-related injuries. 293299 0
Condition category
Condition code
Injuries and Accidents 293581 293581 0 0
Other injuries and accidents
Public Health 293663 293663 0 0
Other public health

Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
Description of intervention(s) / exposure
The Victorian WorkCover Authority (VWA) is an injury compensation system in the state of Victoria, Australia which provides financial, as well as health and related support, to Victorian workers who have sustained an occupational injury. On April 14th 2014, VWA introduced a compensation claims process change for approval of selected elective surgical procedures. Following this policy change, injured workers' selected elective surgical procedure requests were automatically approved.
Intervention code [1] 290451 0
Other interventions
Comparator / control treatment
Control participants will be defined as injured workers within the compensation scheme in the state of Victoria, Australia who have undergone a key elective surgical procedure BEFORE the introduction of the compensation claims process change (i.e., January 1st 2014-April 13th 2014).

Prior to April 14th 2014, elective surgical procedures required prior approval by VWA Claims Agents. As part of this approval process, VWA Claims Agents contacted the injured workers' doctor or healthcare provider for information about the injured workers' progress and treatment plan. In some cases, the VWA Claims Agent also asked the injured worker to attend one or more independent medical examinations by a VWA appointed independent medical practitioner for their independent medical opinion.
Control group
Historical

Outcomes
Primary outcome [1] 293393 0
Injured workers' perception of the service quality provided within the compensation claims process measured using an overall satisfaction rating, assessed via self-reported telephone survey. This telephone survey has been designed specifically for this study.
Timepoint [1] 293393 0
Approximately eight months post surgery.
Secondary outcome [1] 310929 0
Mean duration of time away from work measured in days, assessed using the Victorian WorkCover Authority system income replacement payment data.
Timepoint [1] 310929 0
Approximately eight months post surgery.
Secondary outcome [2] 310930 0
Mean compensation claim costs measured in $AUS, assessed using the Victorian WorkCover Authority system administrative payment data.
Timepoint [2] 310930 0
Approximately eight months post surgery.
Secondary outcome [3] 310931 0
Mean injured workers' rating of health-related quality of life, measured using the EQ-5D.
Timepoint [3] 310931 0
Approximately eight months post surgery.

Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
Injured workers will be identified within a workers' compensation scheme within the state of Victoria, Australia who have undergone selected elective surgical procedures BEFORE and AFTER the introduction of a compensation claims process change (1st January 2014-13th April 2014; 14th April 2014-31st July 2014, respectively). Examples of selected elective surgical procedures include: Internal fixation to treat fractures, hernia repair, carpal tunnel surgery, knee arthroscopic surgery etc.
Minimum age
18 Years
Maximum age
No limit
Sex
Both males and females
Can healthy volunteers participate?
No
Key exclusion criteria
Individuals who are unable to provide informed consent (diminished understanding or comprehension, or a language other than English spoken and an interpreter unavailable).

Study design
Purpose of the study
Treatment
Allocation to intervention
Non-randomised trial
Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
N/A
Masking / blinding
Open (masking not used)
Who is / are masked / blinded?



Intervention assignment
Single group
Other design features
The proposed research aims to measure the efficacy of a policy change intervention on injured workers' perceptions of the overall service quality provided within the compensation claims process.
Phase
Not Applicable
Type of endpoint/s
Efficacy
Statistical methods / analysis

Recruitment
Recruitment status
Not yet recruiting
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
17/11/2014
Actual
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
Actual
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
Actual
Sample size
Target
226
Accrual to date
Final
Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
VIC

Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1] 290102 0
Government body
Name [1] 290102 0
Victorian WorkCover Authority
Country [1] 290102 0
Australia
Primary sponsor type
University
Name
Monash Injury Research Institute, Monash University
Address
Building 70, Monash University, VIC 3800
Country
Australia
Secondary sponsor category [1] 288809 0
None
Name [1] 288809 0
Address [1] 288809 0
Country [1] 288809 0

Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
Ethics committee name [1] 291810 0
Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (MUHREC)
Ethics committee address [1] 291810 0
Room 111, Building 3e
Research Office
Monash University VIC 3800
Ethics committee country [1] 291810 0
Australia
Date submitted for ethics approval [1] 291810 0
04/08/2014
Approval date [1] 291810 0
18/08/2014
Ethics approval number [1] 291810 0
CF14/2371 - 2014001284

Summary
Brief summary
The Victorian WorkCover Authority (VWA) is an injury compensation system in the state of Victoria, Australia which provides financial, as well as health and related support, to Victorian workers who have sustained an occupational injury. In 2014, VWA introduced a compensation claims process change for key elective surgical procedures. The aim of the proposed research is to determine whether the compensation claims process change improved injured workers' perception of the service quality of the compensation claims process, as well as whether the compensation claims process change reduced injured workers' time away from work and compensation claims costs, and improved injured workers' ratings of health-related quality of life.
Trial website
Trial related presentations / publications
Public notes

Contacts
Principal investigator
Name 52122 0
Dr Sjaan Koppel
Address 52122 0
Monash Injury Research Institute, Building 70, Monash University, VIC 3800
Country 52122 0
Australia
Phone 52122 0
+61399054739
Fax 52122 0
Email 52122 0
[email protected]
Contact person for public queries
Name 52123 0
Sjaan Koppel
Address 52123 0
Monash Injury Research Institute, Building 70, Monash University, VIC 3800
Country 52123 0
Australia
Phone 52123 0
+61399054739
Fax 52123 0
Email 52123 0
[email protected]
Contact person for scientific queries
Name 52124 0
Sjaan Koppel
Address 52124 0
Monash Injury Research Institute, Building 70, Monash University, VIC 3800
Country 52124 0
Australia
Phone 52124 0
+61408562815
Fax 52124 0
Email 52124 0
[email protected]

No information has been provided regarding IPD availability


What supporting documents are/will be available?

No Supporting Document Provided



Results publications and other study-related documents

Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.

Documents added automatically
No additional documents have been identified.