Reactivation of Injured Workers Involved in a Work-Hardening Program

Abstract

This study examined 94 injured workers (IWs) treated in a work-hardening program over an 18-month time span. Of the 94 subjects, 78 (82.98 %) were contacted by telephone 1 year after discharge from therapy. Data examined include demographic, therapeutic, and return-to-employment information. Discriminant analyses showed that 74 of the 94 IWs were not working while involved in work hardening. Of these, 70 IWs (94.59 %) were released to gainful employment on discharge. At the time of the follow-up call, 53 of the IWs (67.95 %) were still working. Of the 25 IWs not working, 18 (69.23 %) were involved in litigation. The average subjective pain level for the nonworking group, on a 0–10 scale, was found to be twice that of the working group, 5.35 vs. 2.48 (p<.01). It was also discovered that 100 % of the IWs not working at follow up who were previously deemed noncompliant with work hardening were involved in a disputed claim. This study also found that noncompliant individuals were discharged from therapy much earlier than compliant subjects, after 5.5 versus 14.4 visits, and at a much lower cost, $798.39 versus $2,137.01. These results suggest that although “state-of-the-art” programming was administered, behavioral and psychosocial factors (compliance and litigation) confounded the reactivation outcome process. Implications for future research directions are discussed.