Work transition after hand injury: A scoping review

Systematic scoping review.

Many factors are potentially associated with successful work-related transitions following hand injury. There is no current, comprehensive review of the literature to guide clinical practice.

To comprehensively identify the current body of research evidence supporting return to work (RTW) after hand injury and identify gaps.

A systematic search identified relevant, peer-reviewed, full text, English language primary qualitative or quantitative literature published since 2006. All authors independently determined whether studies should be included, assigned them to a hierarchy of evidence and extracted data. Decisions were defended and disagreements resolved in team meetings. Literature was summarized into key themes using common intent and constructs.

Of 259 potentially-relevant articles, 38 were relevant. Study designs included prospective observational, cross-sectional, and retrospective (n=9 each), mixed methods (n=3), qualitative (n=4), and opinion pieces (n=4). There were no experimental studies. The most commonly-reported key themes were prognostic factors for RTW (25 papers) and assessment tools (18 papers). Remaining themes of impact of injury on the individual, patient perspectives, other stakeholder perspectives, healthcare provider education, and treatment were reported in fewer than 10 papers each. There was little commonality in how research was conducted or reported. Gaps included lack of information on effective interventions, which prognostic factors should be routinely measured, and which assessment and outcome items to routinely use in practice.

Despite the impact of hand injury on capacity to RTW, there is limited evidence to inform successful work-related transitions.