A comparison of acute and postdischarge predictors of employment 2 years after traumatic brain injury.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether adding postdischarge psychosocial predictors to premorbid and injury-related variables improved the capacity to predict employment 2 years after rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury (TBI).


METHODS
Data were collected prospectively at 6 and 24 months after discharge from rehabilitation. Logistic regression analyses examined predictors of employment status.


METHODS
Inpatient and community TBI rehabilitation service attached to a major Australian teaching hospital.


METHODS
Fifty-five patients with TBI, aged 16 or older, who were consecutively admitted to a brain injury unit with complete longitudinal data and who agreed to participate in the study.


METHODS
Measured injury severity (Glasgow Coma Scale scores, posttraumatic amnesia); functional independence (Functional Assessment Measure cognitive subscale) at admission and discharge from rehabilitation; self-report of employment (premorbid, postdischarge); postdischarge psychosocial status at 6 months and 2 years (Community Integration Questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire, Trauma Complaints List, Overt Aggression Scale, Alcohol Use Disorders Inventory Test, Satisfaction with Life Scale).


METHODS
Employment status (employed, unemployed) was used to reflect vocational outcome. Predictor variables comprised premorbid work status, injury-related variables (age, injury severity), and postdischarge variables (employment, community integration, psychologic, cognitive status).


RESULTS
Adding postdischarge predictors to premorbid and acute variables significantly improved the ability to predict work status 2 years after rehabilitation. Age at the time of injury, premorbid employment status, work status, and psychologic distress 6 months postdischarge were significant predictors of employment.


CONCLUSIONS
It is important to consider postdischarge psychologic well-being, in conjunction with premorbid and acute factors, in vocational interventions after TBI.
Felmingham
K L
KL
Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia. kimf@biru.wsahs.nsw.au
Baguley
I J
IJ
Crooks
J
J
D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational; D012917:Social Adjustment; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric