A comparison of acute and postdischarge predictors of employment 2 years after traumatic brain injury

Objective: To examine whether adding postdischarge psychosocial predictors to premorbid and injury-related variables improved the capacity to predict employment 2 years after rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design: Data were collected prospectively at 6 and 24 months after discharge from rehabilitation. Logistic regression analyses examined predictors of employment status. Setting: Inpatient and community TBI rehabilitation service attached to a major Australian teaching hospital. Participants: Fifty-five patients with TBI, aged 16 or older, who were consecutively admitted to a brain injury unit with complete longitudinal data and who agreed to participate in the study. Intervention: Measured injury severity (Glasgow Coma Scale scores, posttraumatic amnesia); functional independence (Functional Assessment Measure cognitive subscale) at admission and discharge from rehabilitation; self-report of employment (premorbid, postdischarge); postdischarge psychosocial status at 6 months and 2 years (Community Integration Questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire, Trauma Complaints List, Overt Aggression Scale, Alcohol Use Disorders Inventory Test, Satisfaction with Life Scale). Main Outcome Measures: Employment status (employed, unemployed) was used to reflect vocational outcome. Predictor variables comprised premorbid work status, injury-related variables (age, injury severity), and postdischarge variables (employment, community integration, psychologic, cognitive status). Results: Adding postdischarge predictors to premorbid and acute variables significantly improved the ability to predict work status 2 years after rehabilitation. Age at the time of injury, premorbid employment status, work status, and psychologic distress 6 months postdischarge were significant predictors of employment. Conclusions: It is important to consider postdischarge psychologic well-being, in conjunction with premorbid and acute factors, in vocational interventions after TBI.