202 Chapter 7 Evidence on the effectiveness of ‘Mentorwijs’ is, however, lacking. Also, more insight is needed on which employee and supervisors’ characteristics enhance or decrease the effectiveness of ‘Mentorwijs’, and how the implementation of this training proceeds. Based on these research gaps the aims of this study were to investigate 1) the effect of ‘Mentorwijs’ on sustainable employment of employees with a work disability, 2) the extent to which this effectiveness is affected by characteristics of employees and supervisors, 3) the effect of ‘Mentorwijs’ on supervisor guidance and 4) the implementation process of ‘Mentorwijs’. Methods Study design We conducted an intervention study that consisted of an effect and process evaluation among employees with a work disability (and a matched controls comparison group) and their supervisors who followed ‘Mentorwijs’. The effect evaluation among employees (i.e. aim 1 and 2) were conducted using questionnaire data completed by employees and register data from Statistics Netherlands. The effect and process evaluation among supervisors (i.e. aim 3 and 4) were conducted by the use of questionnaire data that were completed by supervisors. The Medical Ethics Committee of Amsterdam UMC (location VUmc) decided that the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act does not apply to this study (reference no. 2019.239). All participants who participated in this study provided informed consent. This study was registered in the Dutch Trial Register (Trial NL7901, 2019) (14). The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) was used as guideline to report this study (15). Intervention ‘Mentorwijs’ aims to develop and strengthen knowledge, attitudes, and skills of supervisors who guide employees with a work disability. A central element of the training is to strengthen self-efficacy, meaning that supervisors develop confidence that they have the knowledge and skills to adequately guide employees with a work disability. Furthermore, supervisors are trained on how to consider the work disability, while also taking the employee seriously and let them fully participate in a team where they can be equal to regular employees in the company. A more detailed description of the development and theoretical background of the intervention has been published elsewhere (2), but the specific goals and subgoals of the training are described in table 1. ‘Mentorwijs’ focuses on supervisors that guide employees with a work disability on a daily basis, as supervisors give work instructions and monitor the execution of work tasks. ‘Mentorwijs’ is a relatively short and practical training that consists of five weekly meetings of 2.5 hours, each with specific learning objectives. The training was provided by Dutch municipalities and was free of charge for supervisors and involved
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