Citation

Chu SY, Tsai YH, Xiao SH, Huang SJ, Yang CC. Brain Inj. 2017; 31(12): 1674-1682.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology , National Chengchi University , Taipei , Taiwan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/02699052.2017.1332783

PMID

28872344

Abstract

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Although 'return to work' (RTW) has been always emphasized for patients with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), methodological drawbacks weakened its representativeness. This study thus aims to evaluate the 'work quality' (WQ) which originated from 'working status' and 'working stability' simultaneously, and to further explore the associations among post-concussion symptoms (PCS), neuropsychological functions and WQ.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A total of 179 participants, which included 132 patients with MTBI and 47 healthy participants, were prospectively recruited. The work quality index (WQI) was developed to evaluate WQ. All patients were evaluated for their PCS, neuropsychological functions and WQ at two weeks post-injury (T1), while PCS and WQ were recorded by one month post-injury (T2).

RESULTS: More than half of the patients were not able to retain their pre-injury jobs at T1, while 26% of the patients still failed to regain previous works at T2. Interestingly, WQ was significantly associated with educational levels and physical PCS, such as headache and dizziness.

CONCLUSIONS: Simultaneously considering working status and stability to reveal the quality of RTW is merited. A higher educational level might be a protective factor for successful RTW, and ameliorating physical symptoms is also necessary to get favourable WQ by one month after MTBI.

Language: en

Keywords

Mild traumatic brain injury; neuropsychological functions; post-concussion symptoms; return to work; working stability; working status