Abstract
Psychological factors may compromise return to work among workers with occupational injuries, and little is known about the long-term consequences of psychological symptoms relating to return to work. The study examined the impact of psychological symptoms on return to work as well as exploring factors associated with return to work among injured workers. A total of 572 workers who experienced occupational injuries were recruited in this prospective cohort study. Surveys of the psychological symptoms using the 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5) were conducted at 3 and 12 months after the injury. All of the workers were invited to join the study at year 6 after the injury. Sociodemographic factors, psychological symptoms, injury severity, and return-to-work status were collected. Approximately 10% of injured workers could not return to work even 6 years after the injury. Severe psychological symptoms within 1 year after the injury presented a significant risk factor for not returning to work 6 years after the injury (adjusted OR = 0.7, 95% CI: 0.5–0.8). Furthermore, age, education level, length of hospitalization, and injury-induced changes in appearance had significant independent influence on return to work as well. These findings highlight the importance of the effects of mental health within 1 year post injury on return to work, and support the concept of early screening, detection, and intervention in at-risk occupational injured workers with severe psychological symptoms.
Highlights
The International Labor Organization defines occupational injury as “any personal injury, disease, or death resulting from an occupational accident” [1]
We found that, compared with workers who had normal or minor psychological symptoms, those with severe psychological symptoms at 3 months after occupational injury had less opportunity to return to work at 12 months post injury [14]
We found that severe psychological symptoms at 3 months after the injury were significant risk factors for not return to work at 1 year after injury [14]
Summary
The International Labor Organization defines occupational injury as “any personal injury, disease, or death resulting from an occupational accident” [1]. Each year approximately 317 million nonfatal occupational injuries occur globally [2]. A certain proportion of workers develop psychiatric disorders [3,4,5] and suicidality [6] after occupational injury. These conditions may last for more than several years [7]. Individuals with psychiatric disorders were reported to experience impairments in physical health, social relationship, and occupational function [8,9], which may interfere with workers’ ability to function at work [10].
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