Abstract
Introduction: We test an array of biopsychosocial, cognitive-behavioral, and work-related factors to identify the best predictors of work disability following a back injury. Methods: We test the validity of alternative severity measures in predicting the likelihood of four distinct, mutually exclusive patterns of post-injury employment in the first year after onset of back pain. The study sample includes 959 participants in the ASU Healthy Back Study, a prospective cohort study of workers who filed claims for occupational back pain between 1999 and 2002. Self-reported severity measures include: NRS-101 measures of the intensity of back or leg pain, Roland-Morris scale of functional disability, and mental and physical components of the SF-12. Results: All the severity measures have significant predictive power on return-to-work outcomes even after 1 year. Baseline physical functioning and overall mental and physical health status are more predictive of specific patterns of post-injury employment than pain intensity measures, possibly because there is considerable idiosyncratic variation in the pain intensity measures. The mental component of the SF-12, in particular, is relatively robust to alternate specifications, consistently statistically significant, and has the lowest probability significance level in explaining patterns of employment 1 year after injury.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 683-700 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2007 |
Keywords
- Back functionality
- Low back pain
- Mental well being
- Return to work
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Rehabilitation
- Occupational Therapy