Return to Work After Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review

To review recent literature on the rate and barrier to return to work (RTW) as well as the type of occupation reentry after spinal cord injury (SCI). Study search had been conducted in health sciences databases such as MEDLINE via OvidSP, Cinahl via Ebsco and PubMed from 2010-2015. The keywords used were 'spinal cord injuries,' 'spinal cord injury,' 'spinal cord lesion' 'tetraplegia,' 'paraplegia,' or 'quadriplegia,' 'employment,' 'return to work,' 'occupation' or 'vocational.' The search had retrieved 623 references to be filtered. The filtration yielded 346 abstracts to be assessed for eligibility. The abstracts reviewed yielded 21 eligible studies for further review. The rate of RTW was found low in most of the included studies with the range of 12.9% to 42.1%. Paraplegia, male, adult, and higher physical function had been the most employed. Low physical demand job such as management and administration, lecturing, teaching, and training, business and services, were the most re-entered. Secondary complications, transportation, poor accessibility at work, lack of knowledge and job were the most common barriers to RTW. Better health status, higher physical function, support and consideration, emotional stability and motivation, higher education, and transportation may facilitate the RTW. This information may assist the case or disability management, particularly during job seeking period to enhance the rate of RTW among SCI.