An observational study in Psychosocial Problems, Social Support Needs and Chronic Illness, sponsored by Andrea Zumbrunn. Recruiting at 1 site in Switzerland. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-30.
Sponsored by Andrea Zumbrunn · Observational
Health-related social work fulfills an important function in accompanying and supporting individuals who are affected by health-related, social, and material problems. Despite many years of practical experience, however, there is still a lack of scientific evidence regarding its effectiveness, both in Switzerland and internationally. Reliable instruments for measuring the services provided by social work are lacking, as are representative studies.
The ALIMEnt II study aims to further develop procedures for evidence-based impact measurement in the field of health-related social work and to contribute to closing this research gap:
The instrument captures which services are provided from the perspectives of both social workers and clients, as well as how clients' situations change over time from both their perspectives. This questionnaire will be used in a subsequent longitudinal study to examine the relationship between specific methods of professional practice and client outcomes.
The results are intended to demonstrate the extent to which the instrument can be reliably used to capture the services of social work, and to provide evidence of the effectiveness of accompaniment and resource provision under different practice conditions.
Investigating the assumed causal relationships under complex real-world practice conditions is challenging. To address this, the investigators use an impact model of health-related social work that was developed in a previous empirical study (ALIMEnt I). Both clients and social workers from the field of health-related social work will participate in the ALIMEnt II study.
781 studies on the registry are indexed under Chronic Disease; 144 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 200 is below the median of 461 across 188 observational studies indexed under Chronic Disease.
Browse Chronic Disease studies →This is the only study on the registry with Andrea Zumbrunn as lead sponsor.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Clients from various clinical social work organizations in German-speaking Switzerland who present with both health-related and psychosocial problems and start to be engaged in longer-term support provided by social work professionals.
Inclusion Criteria:
Change of perceived stress and burden (PSS) from baseline to 3 and 6 months
Perceived Stress Scale PSS Subscale Perceived Helplessness: 6 items (items 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 10); Each item scored 0-4 → range: 0-24; Higher scores = greater feelings of lack of control over circumstances or emotions Subscale Perceived Self-Efficacy: 4 items (items 4, 5, 7, 8); Each item scored 0-4 → range: 0-16; Higher scores = greater perceived inability to handle problems (i.e., lower self-efficacy)
Time frame: At baseline (initiation of support), and at 3 and 6 months
Change of self-determined live conduct through the assessment of capabilities (OxCAP) from baseline to 3 and to 6 months
OxCAP-MH Oxford CAPabilities questionnaire for Mental Health: Raw score range: 16-80 (16 items, each scored 1-5), standardized to 0-100; Higher scores = higher level of capabilities/quality of life; in our study Item-level analysis
Time frame: At baseline (initiation of support), and at 3 and 6 months
Change of navigation of and knowledge about the support system (self-developed items) from baseline to 3 and to 6 months
Self-constructed items, inspired by DSS - Discontinuation Success Scale, I am able to navigate the support system (disability insurance, accident insurance, physicians, etc.) well./ I know where to turn to get the right support when I need it. Rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = does not apply to 5 = fully applies)
Time frame: At baseline (initiation of support), and at 3 and 6 months
Change of self-determined live conduct through the assessment of social participation (F-SozU) from baseline to 3 and to 6 months
F-SozU - Social Integration scale (SI): 13 items (long form S-54); Rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = does not apply to 5 = fully applies); Range: 13-65 (or 1-5 when using the mean score); Content: belonging to a circle of friends, engaging in joint activities, knowing people with similar interests/values; Higher scores = greater social integration
Time frame: At baseline (initiation of support), and at 3 and 6 months
Change of hope for improvement (FPTM) in one's condition from baseline to 3 and to 6 month
FPTM - Questionnaire for Psychotherapy Motivation - Hope scale (HO): Original version (FPTM-39): 7 items, 4-point response format (1-4) → Range: 7-28; Higher scores = greater confidence/optimism regarding improvement through treatment (interpreted positively, indicating higher therapy motivation); in our study item-level analysis
Time frame: At baseline (initiation of support), and at 3 and 6 months
Plan to share: Yes — The anonymised IPD and data dictionaries for the IPD will be published on SWISSUbase, FORS's online platform, for non-commercial purposes. Under our licence (CC BY-ND 4.0), anyone using the data is required to cite the project and the applicants (including a reference to the fact that this is an SNSF project).
Supporting information: Study protocol, Informed consent form
Time frame: The data will bei deposited 1 year after publication of results. The initial retention period for data is 10 years from the date of deposit, although extensions apply to datasets that are accessed at a later date.
Access criteria: No personal data will be published. Due to the sensitive nature of the project, data will only be shared for research or teaching purposes. The data will be shared via the conditional access solution provided by SWISSUbase. Conditional access means that unauthorised persons will only have access to metadata. Individuals who meet the conditions will be granted access to the shared material once they have signed an agreement. In order for the data to be reused, the consent of the respondents (participating clients and social workers) is required. Data records and metadata from respondents who refuse to give their consent to anonymised sharing will not be made available.
Data sharing details ↗ · data.snf.ch
Started Jun 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Aug 2028, 26 months after the start.
Of 86 non-industry observational studies under Chronic Disease, half reached primary completion within 35 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 14 and three quarters within 53. This study's planned 26 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 91 studies reached it within 37 months; a quarter within 14.
Chronic Disease covers many different conditions, not one, so the studies compared here vary widely. Read these figures as a rough guide.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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