The effect of vocational rehabilitation on return-to-work rates post stroke: A systematic review | Knowledge Translation for Employment Research Center

Authors:	Baldwin, C. & Bursco, N. K.
Year Published	2011
Publication	Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation
Volume	18
Number	5
Pages	562-572
Publisher	Thomas Land Publishers Inc.
Background	Return to work rates for individuals with stroke vary from as low as 4% to 75%. Those who do return to work report higher levels of satisfaction with life. It is important to evaluate the effect of vocational rehabilitation programs on return to work rates of people who have had stroke and are of working age.
Purpose	The purpose of this review was to investigate the effects on return to work rates of individuals who had strokes and had participated in a vocational rehabilitation program.
Setting	This study is a systematic review. The included studies were undertaken in various locations and settings.
Sample	The sample included 6 studies involving individuals who had strokes.
Data Collection	Electronic databases and web based sites were searched. The search led to 3,120 articles of which 3,106 were excluded. This left 6 article for inclusion that were published between 1990 and 2008. All were retrospective, single cohort studies. The number of participants within the studies ranged from 23 to 200.
Control	There was no control or comparison condition.
Findings	All studies reported work rates after the completion of the vocational rehabilitation program. This ranged from 12% to 49% employment post intervention. How soon the employment rates were collected after the intervention was not reported in five of the six studies reviewed. None of the studies provided follow up data related to employment rates at a later point in time.
Conclusions	Evidence about whether or not vocational rehabilitation programs improve return to work rates for individuals with stroke is inconclusive. Quality randomized controlled trials are needed. Within the literature there is much variation in the definitions of employment, return to work and vocational rehabilitation.
URL	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22082705
Disabilities
Populations
Outcomes	Employment acquisition \| Return to work
NIDILRR Funded	No
Research Design	Systematic reviews and meta-analysis
Peer Reviewed	Yes

Year Published

2011

Publication

Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation

Volume

18

Number

5

Pages

562-572

Publisher

Thomas Land Publishers Inc.

Background

Return to work rates for individuals with stroke vary from as low as 4% to 75%. Those who do return to work report higher levels of satisfaction with life. It is important to evaluate the effect of vocational rehabilitation programs on return to work rates of people who have had stroke and are of working age.

Purpose

The purpose of this review was to investigate the effects on return to work rates of individuals who had strokes and had participated in a vocational rehabilitation program.

Setting

This study is a systematic review. The included studies were undertaken in various locations and settings.

Sample

The sample included 6 studies involving individuals who had strokes.

Data Collection

Electronic databases and web based sites were searched. The search led to 3,120 articles of which 3,106 were excluded. This left 6 article for inclusion that were published between 1990 and 2008. All were retrospective, single cohort studies. The number of participants within the studies ranged from 23 to 200.

Control

There was no control or comparison condition.

Findings

All studies reported work rates after the completion of the vocational rehabilitation program. This ranged from 12% to 49% employment post intervention. How soon the employment rates were collected after the intervention was not reported in five of the six studies reviewed. None of the studies provided follow up data related to employment rates at a later point in time.

Conclusions

Evidence about whether or not vocational rehabilitation programs improve return to work rates for individuals with stroke is inconclusive. Quality randomized controlled trials are needed. Within the literature there is much variation in the definitions of employment, return to work and vocational rehabilitation.

URL

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22082705

Disabilities

Populations

Outcomes

Employment acquisition | Return to work

NIDILRR Funded

No

Research Design

Systematic reviews and meta-analysis

Peer Reviewed

Yes