Return to work following moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the role of cognitive functioning, fatigue, mood and behaviour in return to work (RTW) following moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury.


METHODS
Between-groups comparisons were conducted with 20 participants who had RTW and 13 who had not. Participants were well matched for age, pre-morbid intellectual functioning, years of education, injury severity and time since injury.


RESULTS
The unemployed group reported significantly higher levels of fatigue and depression and significantly more problems on self-report questionnaires. A significantly higher proportion of this group was seeking compensation. No significant differences were obtained on neuropsychological measures of cognitive functioning.


CONCLUSIONS
Mood, fatigue and behavioural problems may impede a person's ability to RTW. Subjective measures may be more superior to objective measures in predicting RTW. The litigation process may affect people's motivation to RTW.
McCrimmon
Sarah
S
West Kent Neurorehabilitation Unit, Sevenoaks Hospital, Sevenoaks, Kent, UK. smccrimmon@ukonline.co.uk
Oddy
Michael
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003071:Cognition; D035881:Compensation and Redress; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology