Work loss following stroke

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of this study was the examination of rather objective predictors of ‘return to work’ (RTW) after stroke like income, gender or cognitive dysfunction. Beyond that, the impact of subjective perception of disability on likelihood of RTW after stroke and patients' and spouses' quality of life in relation to the patients' resumption of work was analysed.

Method. Seventy first-stroke patients were examined on admission and 1 year later with the Patient Competency Rating Scale, the WHO Quality of Life questionnaire and the Barthel Index. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the impact of predictors on RTW. General linear models were applied to measure the changes in quality of life in relation to work status.

Results. Of the patients who had been employed before having had a stroke, 26.7% returned to work after 1 year. Patients' functional ability turned out to be the most important predictor of returned to work. Quality of life was positively associated with the likelihood to resume work. However, having returned to work was not related to an increased level of quality of life in patients. The spouses whose partners went back to work did experience an increase in quality of life.

Conclusions. The association between quality of life and returning to work seems to be of greater importance for spouses than it is for patients. The recommendation is made to integrate loss of work as an additional factor in couples' quality of life after stroke.

Keywords:

• Stroke
• return to work
• spouse
• quality of life
• functional ability