Research Plus

Injury perceptions and return to work

There is no conclusive evidence from published research on whether or not individuals’ perceptions about their injuries affect their return to work (RTW); though pain catastrophising may influence RTW outcome and is a promising area for research. A systematic review of literature to March 2007 found 30 studies and six review articles, with 17 excluded owing to design flaws. There was too little evidence to conclude that expectations of recovery have a significant effect on RTW outcome. Pain catastrophising score, but not perceived disability, explains some of the outcome variance in studies.

Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation 2008; 18(4): 362–374. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10926-008-9153-0

Tags evidence based practice Return to work

Occupational Health at Work February/March 2009 (vol. 05/5) pp41