Background: Approximately two percent of the United States population are traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors. The unemployment rate among them is substantial. Cognitive skills are essential to perform any job.
Objective: We analyzed the literature on cognitive rehabilitation (CR) related to mild/moderate TBI to learn the influence of cognition on return to work (RTW) post TBI.
Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the studies on CR related to RTW post TBI that were published between 2000 and 2015.
Results: We critically reviewed 30 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Ten studies highlighted cognition as a predictor variable, seven studies demonstrated support for cognitive testing in RTW assessments, and 13 studies showed the efficacy of CR in facilitating RTW post TBI.
Conclusion: Cognition plays a significant role in predicting and facilitating RTW in patients with TBI.
Keywords: Cognitive rehabilitation; evidence-based review; vocational outcome.