Psychological Status and Work Rehabilitation Program Outcomes

Abstract

Injuries occurring at work can have consequences exceeding the physical impairments including an impact on one’s mental health. This retrospective cohort study aimed to determine whether components of mental health correlate to outcomes of a work rehabilitation program. The sample included 355 participants treated between 2017 and 2020 at Aurora BayCare Medical Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The OSPRO Yellow Flag Assessment Tool, Beck’s Depression Inventory, the Patient Health Questionnaire-2, Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale, and the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia were administered to patients in the work rehabilitation program. The assessments indicated a weak positive correlation between the varying psychological factors assessed and the duration of stay within the work rehabilitation program and a weak negative correlation between the percentage of job demands met at discharge. A patient’s psychological status was found to be associated with outcomes with a work rehabilitation program.

Plain Language Summary

In this study, patient’s psychological status was evaluated at the initial evaluation and discharge of a work rehabilitation program. Work Rehabilitation focuses on returning an injured worker to work through a variety of interventions, such as activities that simulate job demands, strengthening, and cardiovascular activities. The assessments that the patients completed focused on depression, anxiety, pain, and fear of movement. The study found there was a correlation between the assessments examining depression, anxiety, pain, and fear avoidance in these patients and the outcomes of the work rehabilitation program. The outcomes of the work rehabilitation program include length of stay within the program and the ability to return to work.

Keywords

work mental health return to work rehabilitation

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