Return to work after traumatic brain injury: Systematic review

The main outcome measures were employment status and return to work after TBI. Methodological quality of most of the relevant 12 controlled and 68 uncontrolled studies included in the review was estimated as very low. There was weak evidence that age, educational level, pre- and post-injury occupational status, severity of TBI, functional status, level of depression and anxiety, gender and race may be predictive for the vocational outcome after TBI. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: No strong evidence was found that vocational outcomes after TBI could be predicted or improved. There is a need for both experimental and observational well-conducted studies on this important subject. Researchers are strongly encouraged to use unified and standardized terms and scales in further studies. The authors suggest the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as the best tool available for this purpose.