Evaluating the impact of accessing NHS Talking Therapies on benefit receipt using a novel data linkage of mental healthcare and administrative benefits records
Aim: This project aims to describe benefit receipt in people with mental health problems and examine changes in benefit receipt after accessing NHS Talking Therapies (NHS-TT) and Employment Adviser Support (EAS). Following past research showing social inequalities in access to NHS-TT, our secondary aim is to understand the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of people accessing EAS and how these characteristics affect outcomes.
What the research will involve:
This project comprises four work packages:
Work package 1: Understanding data linkage
· To describe the process and outcomes of a data linkage between NHS Talking Therapies (NHS-TT) records from the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust with benefits records from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and describe the characteristics associated with linkage success.
Work package 2: Universal Credit (UC) trajectories
· What are the typical trajectories and transitions between UC conditionality regimes (proxy for unemployment, incapacity for work, and precarious working conditions) among people who accessed NHS-TT?
· What are the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics associated with these trajectories?
Work package 3: Does NHS-TT impact on benefits receipt?
· What is the impact of NHS-TT on the receipt of unemployment, disability and incapacity benefits at 3, 6 and 12 months after the last NHS-TT session?
· Does this differ by sociodemographic, clinical characteristics, and treatment outcome?
Work package 4: Characterising Employment Adviser Support provision and outcomes
· What are the sociodemographic, clinical, and benefit characteristics of people receiving EAS when they present to NHS-TT?
· Does receipt of unemployment, disability or incapacity benefit change 3, 6 and 12 months after receiving EAS alongside NHS-TT?
What has the study found: Pending official start date August 2025
Study Team: Dr Sharon A.M. Stevelink, Dr Sarah Ledden, Dr Ewan Carr, Dr Sarah Dorrington
For further information: sharon.stevelink@kcl.ac.uk
Funders: The Colt Foundation