Employment rehabilitation: outcome and prediction

Several factors have been shown to influence return to work after chronic disability, but little is known about their independent effect. There is also some disagreement about what constitutes successful resettlement in work. To establish the predictors of an early return to stable employment, 1,565 rehabilitees discharged from two employment rehabilitation centers in England were followed for at least 1 year. Nineteen entry characteristics and six outcome measures were analyzed by the canonical correlation method. Results in the two groups of rehabilitees were fairly similar. Three variables contributed most to the outcome measure: getting a job, delay in starting work, and employment status at the time of follow-up. Factors associated with a successful outcome were motivation, a low level of physical disability, short duration of unemployment before rehabilitation, completion of rehabilitation course, and a low level of general unemployment in the home area of the rehabilitee.