Original articleReturn to Work and Quality of Life in Workers With Traumatic Limb Injuries: A 2-Year Repeated-Measurements Study
Section snippets
Participants
We conducted a 2-year repeated-measurements study because most of the persons with limb injuries achieve their first RTW within 2 years postinjury.16 Moreover, the RTW is not a permanent status because secondary injury or work incapability may occur after their RTW.13 Inclusion criteria were patients older than 18 years diagnosed with limb injuries and hospitalized in a teaching hospital within 14 days postinjury. Those unable to read or answer the questionnaires, foreign workers, and those
Results
The characteristics of study participants at baseline are described in table 1. Table 2 shows the difference in PRO measures between RTW and non-RTW episodes. Participants with an RTW status at a particular time tended to report significantly higher scores in the EQ-5D questionnaire (.98 vs .76). RTW status was also significantly associated with fewer depressive symptoms (.35 vs 1.47), greater self-efficacy (32.53 vs 29.51), better coping ability (56.49 vs 52.55), and a higher frequency of
Discussion
Over a 2-year span with 5 observational time periods, 81.2% of the participants returned to work at least once, but only 38.2% successfully maintained their RTW status till the end of the study period. A significant association was found between the RTW status and a higher level of HRQOL. This association was greatly diminished by taking into account the activity/participation domains and the elapsed time since injury. In addition to the RTW status, a shorter LOS at baseline, lesser depressive
Conclusions
In conclusion, the activity/participation domains and elapsed time since injury may largely explain the positive association of RTW with HRQOL. Despite that, RTW may still exert a positive and independent influence on HRQOL, suggesting a need for successful RTW in injured workers. Rehabilitation strategies that may successfully maintain a worker's RTW status should also be considered.
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Supported by research grants from the National Science Council (NSC 99-2314-B-650-001-MY2) and the E-Da Hospital (EDAHP-98009 and EDAHP-99001).
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.