Factors affecting planned return to work after trauma: A prospective descriptive qualitative and quantitative study.

Area of Science:

• Trauma care and rehabilitation
• Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs)
• Occupational health and return to work

Background:

• Limited use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in trauma care.
• Poor evidence base for factors affecting return to work after significant trauma.
• Need for patient-driven insights to improve trauma recovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate qualitative responses from trauma patients regarding return to work.
• Identify factors influencing planned return to work post-trauma.
• Assess the utility of PROMs in enhancing trauma care.

Main Methods:

• Prospective collection of PROMs data (including EQ-5D) from 92 major trauma patients.
• Analysis of open-ended questions on patient experiences ('done well', 'to be improved').
• Statistical analysis using ANOVA and Chi-squared tests; qualitative thematic content analysis.

Main Results:

• Only 18/68 working patients anticipated returning to work within 14 days.
• Injury Severity Scores (ISS) were similar between early and late return-to-work groups.
• Positive themes: care, staff, professionalism; Negative themes: food, ward response time, communication.

Conclusions:

• Qualitative PROMs analysis is vital for patient-driven improvements in trauma care.
• Identified key areas for improvement in patient experience and return-to-work support.
• Provides data (SD for ISS and EQ-5D) for future trauma return-to-work studies.