ABSTRACT
Background: Returning to employment following moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (msTBI) is critical for a survivor’s well-being, yet currently there are no systematic reviews that comprehensively describe employment outcomes following msTBI. The objective of this study was to systematically synthesize literature on employment outcomes following msTBI.
Methods: Original studies published through April 2018 on MEDLINE/PubMed, PsychINFO, and CINAHL were eligible if the objective was to investigate employment outcomes following msTBI; outcome was measured ≥1 year; participants were ≥15; and size was ≥60. Post-injury employment prevalence and return to pre-injury level of work were summarized through meta-analysis.
Results: Of 38 eligible studies, post-injury employment prevalence was most often reported (n = 35), followed by job stability (n = 6), and return to pre-injury level of work (n = 4). Overall post-injury employment prevalence was 42.2%; whereas the return-to-previous-work prevalence was 33.0%. Post-injury employment prevalence appeared to increase over time, from 34.9% at 1 year to 42.1% up to 5 years and 49.9% beyond 5 years.
Conclusion: Nearly half of individuals with msTBI were employed post-injury, yet only a third returned to pre-injury level of work. Future researchers are recommended to standardize employment outcome measures to enable better comparison of outcomes across studies.
Declaration of Interest
The authors report no conflicts or declarations of interest.
Supplementary material
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