Differences Over Time in the Prognostic Effect of Return to Work Self-Efficacy on a Sustained Return to Work

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Psychology
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Return to work (RTW) is a critical outcome for individuals with injuries.
• Self-efficacy, the belief in one's ability to succeed, is theorized to influence RTW.
• Understanding the temporal relationship between RTW self-efficacy (RTW-SE) and sustained RTW is important for effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between RTW-SE and sustained RTW.
• To examine if this association changes over a 12-month period post-injury.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal cohort study of 410 workers' compensation claimants with upper-body musculoskeletal or psychological injuries.
• Survey responses collected at multiple time points.
• Path analysis and Wald chi-squared tests used to analyze RTW-SE and sustained RTW associations over time.

Main Results:

• RTW-SE at early time-point (T1) was significantly associated with sustained RTW at a later time-point (T2) (β=0.24, P<0.05).
• No significant association was found between RTW-SE at a later time-point (T2) and sustained RTW at the final time-point (T3) (β=0.017, n.s.).
• Model comparisons indicated the association between RTW-SE and sustained RTW was stronger in the early phase of RTW than in the later phase (χ²=5.002, p=0.03).

Conclusions:

• RTW-SE measured 4-6 months post-injury is important for sustained RTW 6 months later.
• RTW-SE measured 10-12 months post-injury had a negligible association with sustained RTW over the same duration.
• Further research is needed to explore factors influencing sustained RTW in the later stages of recovery and generalizability to other populations.