Psychological morbidity and return to work after injury: multicentre cohort study

Area of Science:

• Occupational health
• Psychological medicine
• Trauma recovery

Background:

• Work offers significant physical, psychological, and financial benefits.
• Delayed return to work (RTW) is common after unintentional injuries.
• Psychological morbidity is a suspected contributor to delayed RTW, but its impact is not well-quantified.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the influence of psychological factors on RTW after unintentional injuries.
• Investigate the specific roles of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic distress in RTW delays.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal, multicentre prospective study in four UK locations.
• 273 employed adults (16-69 years) hospitalized for unintentional injury were surveyed at baseline and 1, 2, 4, and 12 months post-injury.
• Random effects logistic regression analyzed associations between demographic, injury, and psychological factors and RTW between 2-12 months post-injury.

Main Results:

• Increased depression scores at 1 month post-injury were associated with reduced odds of RTW (OR 0.87).
• Longer hospital stays also decreased the odds of RTW (OR 0.91).
• Experiencing threatening life events post-injury (OR 0.27) and higher Crisis Support Scale scores (OR 0.93) were linked to lower RTW odds.

Conclusions:

• Primary care professionals can identify individuals at risk of delayed RTW.
• Management of psychological morbidity is crucial for facilitating RTW.
• Targeted support can help patients return to work sooner.