Predictors of Employment Outcome One to Three Years after Injury

Early Studies 

Early Studies defined traumatic brain injury outcomes primarily in terms of survival rates. More recently, as more and more individuals have survived traumatic brain injury, successful traumatic brain injury outcome has been defined as the ability to function in the “real world.” Such functional outcome measurements have included the ability to return to work or school. Estimates of return to work rates after traumatic brain injury have differed widely—ranging from 20% to 99%. Past studies that have tried to predict employment outcome following traumatic brain injury have produced inconsistent results because the researchers used different definitions and methods when conducting their studies.

This Study

This study included 99 individuals with traumatic brain injury. At the time of their injury, 87 individuals (88%) were employed or students. Twelve of the individuals (12%) were not engaged in productive activity at the time of their injury. The researchers obtained data from chart review, standardized test scores, and interviews. The researchers analyzed the factors of age, education, pre-injury employment status, initial injury severity, and functional ability to see if they were predictors of productivity at one to three years following traumatic brain injury.The researchers found that 56 individuals (64%) of the 87 individuals that were employed at the time of their injury were unemployed at one to three years after their injury dates. Thirty one (36%) of them were employed. The 12 individuals that were not productive prior to their injury were not productive at one to three years after their injury dates. Individuals with more education, lower disability ratings, and that were productive at the time of their injury were more likely to be employed at one to three years after their injury dates.

Who May Be Affected By These Findings

Individuals with traumatic brain injury, rehabilitation personnel, community integration planners, researchers

Caveats

The findings of this study are similar to those of past studies, with one exception. In this study, age and injury severity were not predictors of employment outcome.

Bottom Line

Individuals with more education, lower disability ratings, and that were productive at the time of their injury were more likely to be employed at one to three years after their injury dates.

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