Factors associated with return to work in men and women with work-related traumatic brain injury

Chen Xiong; Tickalyn Martin; Aneesha Sravanapudi; Angela Colantonio; Tatyana Mollayeva

doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2015.12.002

Factors associated with return to work in men and women with work-related traumatic brain injury

Disabil Health J. 2016 Jul;9(3):439-48. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2015.12.002. Epub 2015 Dec 13.

Authors

Chen Xiong¹, Tickalyn Martin², Aneesha Sravanapudi², Angela Colantonio³, Tatyana Mollayeva⁴

Affiliations

¹ Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. Electronic address: chen.xiong@mail.utoronto.ca.
² Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
³ Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁴ Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.

PMID: 26817582
DOI: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2015.12.002

Abstract

Background: Symptoms that persist subsequent to a work-related traumatic brain injury (wrTBI) influence the ability to return to work (RTW) and indicate areas of functional disability, as classified in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between RTW status and ICF framework domains in men and women with a wrTBI.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 209 consecutive workers with TBI (mild TBI: 71.8%; mean age: 40.2 ± 11.1, men: 71.3%) was conducted. Workers were assessed during the chronic post-injury phase, at the neurology service of a large rehabilitation hospital in Ontario, Canada in 2003. Frequency distributions were calculated and chi-square tests performed.

Results: At the point of assessment, 78.0% of workers were in receipt of disability benefits, while the remainder had returned to work on a full- or part-time basis. Significant differences were observed in the Body Functions and Structures domain of the ICF model, specifically clinical diagnoses of depression, anxiety, pain disorders; self-perceived cognitive disturbance, and certain psychosocial factors (p < 0.05), between workers who had returned to work and those who had not. When stratified according to sex, these associations remained significant only in men.

Conclusions: The factors outlined above should be subject to further TBI research, as indicators for RTW. The lack of significant findings in women warrants further exploration of variables within the physical and social environmental domains of the ICF.

Keywords: Head trauma; Occupational injury; Occupational outcomes; Sex differences.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Anxiety / etiology
Anxiety Disorders / etiology*
Brain Injuries, Traumatic / complications*
Brain Injuries, Traumatic / psychology
Cognition Disorders / etiology*
Depression / etiology
Depressive Disorder / etiology*
Disability Evaluation
Disabled Persons*
Female
Humans
Male
Ontario
Pain / etiology*
Retrospective Studies
Return to Work*
Sex Factors
Social Participation
Surveys and Questionnaires