Study design: Cross-sectional, retrospective survey.
Objective: To find the factors influencing the return to work status (RTW) in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Setting: Tertiary care university teaching hospital, India.
Methods: A total of 109 community-dwelling persons with SCI who had been previously rehabilitated and were residing within a 100 km radius from our rehabilitation center were recruited. The return to work status in addition to the demographic, injury, work, environment, physical, and psychosocial characteristics were self-reported via interview.
Results: The return to work rate was 82%. The odds of a return to work post injury was 93 times higher for persons who reported high self-motivation when compared to persons who reported low self-motivation (OR = 93.6, 95% CI 10.5-836.6). The odds of a return to work were nine times higher for persons who reported adequate social support from the family and in the community when compared to those who reported inadequate social support (OR = 8.9, 95% CI 10.5-52.6). Other factors significantly associated with return to work status include younger age at injury, being single, lower level of lesion, vocational training, independence in self-care, and accessibility and mobility to all places.
Conclusion: Motivation and social support are critical to successful return to work following SCI. Comprehensive multidisciplinary rehabilitation, which targets vocational goals, improvements in individual functioning and mobility, and community access are important for successful employment outcomes.