Early vocational rehabilitation after acquired brain injury: A structured and interdisciplinary approach

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There are indications that specialist vocational rehabilitation is beneficial when trying to return to work after acquired brain injury (ABI). OBJECTIVE: To give a description of the Early Vocational Rehabilitation (EVR) protocol and its development in order to make it available for implementation in rehabilitation institutes to strengthen the appearance of these institutes as relevant partners and supporters during the process of (sustaining) return to work of people with ABI. METHODS: The Early Vocational Rehabilitation (EVR) protocol is a process guideline to facilitate the interdisciplinary rehabilitation team to systematically focus on return to work during an early stage of (inpatient or outpatient) rehabilitation of people with ABI. The development was expert based. RESULTS: The EVR protocol consists of four stages: 1) orientation of the rehabilitation team towards the patient’s work; 2) investigating the gap between the patient’s abilities and work; 3) work training; and 4) finalizing EVR. Cooperation among all relevant partners from inside or outside the rehabilitation institute is important for maximally adapting the EVR treatment to the individual (work) situation of the person with ABI. CONCLUSION: The EVR protocol is available for implementation in other rehabilitation institutes. Performing a context analysis for each new context in which it is implemented is recommended.