Interdisciplinary rehabilitation of hospital employees with musculoskeletal disorders

At Lund University Hospital a cooperation project started in 1989 between the Rehabilitation Clinic and the Occupational Health Service Unit for the rehabilitation of 34 hospital employees with musculoskeletal problems and a median sick-listing time of 6 months, treated as day-patients by an interdisciplinary team. Evaluation instruments used were the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), Pain Drawing, Visual Analogue Scale for pain, and the Disability Rating Index (DRI). The most prominent immediate effect was a significant increase of perceived energy and significant improvement of the total score of health-related quality of life (NHP). After 12 months, 25 out of 34 (74%) subjects had returned to work. The reference group used consisted of 57 subjects referred earlier from the Occupational Health Service Unit to the Personnel Department, for vocational rehabilitation. The groups were followed by 2-4 years using questionnaires concerning working conditions and current health status. There was a significant difference (p = 0.038) in return to work: intervention group 77%, reference group 58%.