Outcomes of return-to-work after stroke rehabilitation: A systematic review. (May 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wei, Xi-Jun; Liu, Xue-feng; Fong, Kenneth NK
• Is Part Of: British journal of occupational therapy. Volume 79:Number 5(2016:May)
• Page Start: 299
• Page End: 308
• Publication Date: 2016-05
• Subjects: Systematic review -- stroke rehabilitation -- return-to-work -- employment rate; Occupational therapy -- Periodicals; 615.8515
• DOI: 10.1177/0308022615624710
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0308-0226

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this systematic review was to identify the outcomes of return-to-work for stroke survivors of working age after conventional stroke rehabilitation or vocational rehabilitation. Method: Searches were performed using three electronic databases for literature published in English in the 10-year period 2004–2014 which included a population of working age stroke survivors who had previously participated in conventional or vocational rehabilitation, and which presented the outcomes of return-to-work. Findings: The literature search yielded 10 studies that satisfied our selection criteria. Three studies involved vocational rehabilitation. Studies illustrated and compared the vocational status at or among different stages of 'pre-stroke', 'post-stroke and before rehabilitation discharge', 'rehabilitation discharge' and 'follow-up'. The employment rate at follow-up ranged from 7% to 81.1%. Conclusion: Methodological variations accounted for the wide range of return-to-work rates. There was limited evidence to support the conclusion that rehabilitation increases return-to-work rates for stroke survivors of working age, but recent studies showed that improvements in fatigue and cognitive function after stroke rehabilitation were related to good return-to-work outcomes. Either specialised vocational rehabilitation, conventional stroke rehabilitation or their combination is needed to increase return-to-work rates and improve the quality of life for stroke survivors of working age.