Factors influencing the return to work of patients after hip replacement and rehabilitation.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the incidence of medical and sociocultural factors on the return to work of patients after hip replacement and rehabilitation treatment.


METHODS
Case review. Frequency and association of variables' analysis.


METHODS
The rehabilitation unit of a general hospital in Oviedo (Spain). This setting is a part of an institutional referral center and is the only state-owned hospital that provides rehabilitation treatment for hospitalized patients from a rural and urban area of about 1,000,000 inhabitants.


METHODS
747 patients of both sexes, all of them working before receiving treatment, age range 18 to 64 years.


METHODS
Relationship of several variables: age, sex, habitat, level of education, type of work, underlying illness, walking ability, pain, and type of social security versus return to work.


RESULTS
At discharge, 25% of patients return to work. There is a significant association (p < .001) between return to work and any of the following variables: underlying illness, kind of work, walking ability, habitat, and educational level.


CONCLUSIONS
This physiopathology of symptoms and signs of the patients is not the unique indicator of whether a person will continue working after hip replacement and rehabilitation treatment. Extramedical factors, such as social status, kind of work, and cultural background, are very influential.
Suarez
J
J
Departamento de Rehabilitación, Hospital Central de Asturias, Facultad de Medicina Universidad de Oviedo, Spain.
Arguelles
J
J
Costales
M
M
Arechaga
C
C
Cabeza
F
F
Vijande
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015897:Comorbidity; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006622:Hip Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013030:Spain