Top

Published in:

12-02-2022 | Back Pain | Meta Review

Expectations for Return to Work Predict Return to Work in Workers with Low Back Pain: An Individual Participant Data (IPD) Meta-Analysis

Authors: Victoria Sullivan, Maria N. Wilson, Douglas P. Gross, Ole Kudsk Jensen, William S. Shaw, Ivan A. Steenstra, Jill A. Hayden

Published in: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation | Issue 4/2022

Abstract

Purpose Low back pain is associated with disability and lost productivity due to inability of workers to return to work. Personal recovery expectation beliefs may be associated with return to work outcomes in those with low back pain at high risk for chronic disability. We aimed to (1) assess whether workers’ expectations for return to work, following a low back pain episode, are associated with subsequent return to work; and (2) explore the relationships between return to work expectations and other prognostic factors in their association with work outcomes.

Methods We conducted an Individual Participant Data (IPD) meta-analysis using data from five prospective cohort studies identified by a Cochrane prognostic factor review. A one-stage IPD meta-analysis approach was applied. Multi-level mixed effects models were used to determine the unadjusted and adjusted associations between expectations and return to work (logistic regression) and time to return to work (parametric survival models with Weibull distribution).

Results The final dataset included 2302 participants. Positive expectations for return to work were associated with return to work at follow-up in both unadjusted (Odds Ratio (OR) 2.95; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 2.21, 3.95) (n = 2071) and comprehensively adjusted (OR 2.01; 95% CI 1.46, 2.77) (n = 1109) models. Similar findings were identified for shorter length of time to return to work in both unadjusted (HR 2.40; 95% CI 2.09, 2.75) (n = 1156) and minimally adjusted (HR 2.43; 95% CI 2.12, 2.79) (n = 1154) models.

Conclusions Results suggest workers with low expectations for return to work are at increased risk for long-term work disability.

Available only for authorised users

Carroll C, Rick J, Pilgrim H, Cameron J, Hillage J. Workplace involvement improves return to work rates among employees with back pain on long-term sick leave: a systematic review of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions. Disabil Rehabil. 2010;32(8):607–621.PubMedCrossRef

Kassebaum NJ, Arora M, Barber RM, Bhutta ZA, Brown J, Carter A, et al. Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 315 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE), 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet. 2016;388(10053):1603–1658.CrossRef

Volinn E, Van Koevering D, Loeser JD. Back sprain in industry: the role of socioeconomic factors in chronicity. Spine. 1991;16(5):542–548.PubMedCrossRef

Da Dagenais S, Caro J, Haldeman S. A systematic review of low back pain cost of illness studies in the United States and internationally. The spine journal. 2008;8(1):8–20.PubMedCrossRef

Baldwin ML, Butler RJ, Johnson WG, Côté P. Self-reported severity measures as predictors of return-to-work outcomes in occupational back pain. J Occup Rehabil. 2007;17(4):683–700.PubMedCrossRef

Cheadle A, Franklin G, Wolfhagen C, Savarino J, Liu PY, Salley C, et al. Factors influencing the duration of work-related disability: a population-based study of Washington State workers’ compensation. Am J Public Health. 1994;84(2):190–196.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

Turner JA, Franklin G, Turk DC. Predictors of chronic disability in injured workers: a systematic literature synthesis. Am J Ind Med. 2000;38(6):707–722.PubMedCrossRef

Williams DA, Feuerstein M, Durbin D, Pezzullo J. Health care and indemnity costs across the natural history of disability in occupational low back pain. Spine. 1998;23(21):2329–2336.PubMedCrossRef

Hashemi L, Webster BS, Clancy EA, Volinn E. Length of disability and cost of workers’ compensation low back pain claims. J Occup Environ Med. 1997;39(10):937–945.PubMedCrossRef

10.

Cancelliere C, Donovan J, Stochkendahl MJ, Biscardi M, Ammendolia C, Myburgh C, et al. Factors affecting return to work after injury or illness: best evidence synthesis of systematic reviews. Chiropr Man Therap. 2016;24(1):32.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

11.

Iles RA, Davidson M, Taylor NF, O’Halloran P. Systematic review of the ability of recovery expectations to predict outcomes in non-chronic non-specific low back pain. J Occup Rehabil. 2009;19(1):25–40.PubMedCrossRef

12.

Hoffman BM, Papas RK, Chatkoff DK, Kerns RD. Meta-analysis of psychological interventions for chronic low back pain. Health Psychol. 2007;26(1):1–9.PubMedCrossRef

13.

Booth-Kewley S, Schmied EA, Highfill-McRoy RM, Sander TC, Blivin SJ, Garland CF. A prospective study of factors affecting recovery from musculoskeletal injuries. J Occup Rehabil. 2014;24(2):287–296.PubMedCrossRef

14.

Linton SJ, Gross D, Schultz IZ, Main C, Côté P, Pransky G, et al. Prognosis and the identification of workers risking disability: research issues and directions for future research. J Occup Rehabil. 2005;15(4):459–474.PubMedCrossRef

15.

Pransky G, Shaw W, Fitzgerald TE. Prognosis in acute occupational low back pain: Methodologic and practical considerations. Hum Ecol Risk Assess. 2001;7(7):1811–1825.CrossRef

16.

Steenstra IA, Munhall C, Irvin E, Oranye N, Passmore S, Van Eerd D, et al. Systematic review of prognostic factors for return to work in workers with sub acute and chronic low back pain. J Occup Rehabil. 2017;27(3):369–381.PubMedCrossRef

17.

Hayden JA, Wilson MN, Riley RD, Iles R, Pincus T, Ogilvie R. Individual recovery expectations and prognosis of outcomes in non-specific low back pain: prognostic factor review. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011284.pub2.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

18.

Besen E, Young AE, Shaw WS. Returning to work following low back pain: towards a model of individual psychosocial factors. J Occup Rehabil. 2015;25(1):25–37.PubMedCrossRef

19.

Gross DP, Battié MC. Recovery expectations predict recovery in workers with back pain but not other musculoskeletal conditions. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2010;23(7):451–456.PubMedCrossRef

20.

Shaw WS, Pransky G, Patterson W, Linton SJ, Winters T. Patient clusters in acute, work-related back pain based on patterns of disability risk factors. J Occup Environ Med. 2007;49(2):185–193.PubMedCrossRef

21.

Shaw WS, Reme SE, Pransky G, Woiszwillo MJ, Steenstra IA, Linton SJ. The pain recovery inventory of concerns and expectations: a psychosocial screening instrument to identify intervention needs among patients at elevated risk of back disability. J Occup Environ Med. 2013;55(8):885–894.PubMedCrossRef

22.

Hayden JA, van der Windt DA, Cartwright JL, Côté P, Bombardier C. Assessing bias in studies of prognostic factors. Ann Intern Med. 2013;158(4):280–6.PubMedCrossRef

23.

Steenstra IA, Koopman FS, Knol DL, Kat E, Bongers PM, de Vet HCW, et al. Prognostic factors for duration of sick leave due to low-back pain in dutch health care professionals. J Occup Rehabil. 2005;15(4):591–605.PubMedCrossRef

24.

Steenstra IA, Lee H, de Vroome EMM, Busse JW, Hogg-Johnson SJ. Comparing current definitions of return to work: a measurement approach. J Occup Rehabil. 2012;22(3):394–400.PubMedCrossRef

25.

IBM Corp. Released 2013. IBM SPSS Statistics for Macintosh, Version 22.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.

26.

StataCorp. 2017. Stata Statistical Software: Release 15.0. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP.

27.

Butler RJ, Johnson WG, Côté P. It pays to be nice: employer-worker relationships and the management of back pain claims. J Occup Environ Med. 2007;49(2):214–225.PubMedCrossRef

28.

Schultz ZI, Crook J, Meloche RG, Berkowitz J, Milner R, Zuberbier AO, et al. Psychosocial factors predictive of occupational low back disability: towards development of a return-to-work model. Pain. 2004;107(1):77–85.PubMedCrossRef

29.

Turner JA, Franklin G, Fulton-Kehoe D, Sheppard L, Stover B, Wu R, et al. ISSLS prize winner: early predictors of chronic work disability: a prospective, population-based study of workers with back injuries. Spine. 2008;33(25):2809–2818.PubMedCrossRef

30.

Jensen OK, Stengaard-Pedersen K, Jensen C, Nielsen CV. Prediction model for unsuccessful return to work after hospital-based intervention in low back pain patients. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2013;14(1):140.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

31.

Carriere JS, Thibault P, Sullivan MJ. The mediating role of recovery expectancies on the relation between depression and return-to-work. J Occup Rehabil. 2015;25(2):348–356.PubMedCrossRef

32.

Opsahl J, Eriksen HR, Tveito TH. Do expectancies of return to work and job satisfaction predict actual return to work in workers with long lasting LBP? BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2016;17(1):1–10.CrossRef

33.

Reme SE, Hagen EM, Eriksen HR. Expectations, perceptions, and physiotherapy predict prolonged sick leave in subacute low back pain. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2009;10(1):139.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

34.

Dionne CE, Bourbonnais R, Frémont P, Rossignol M, Stock SR, Larocque I. A clinical return-to-work rule for patients with back pain. CMAJ. 2005;172(12):1559–1567.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

35.

Iles RA, Davidson M, Taylor NF. Psychosocial predictors of failure to return to work in non-chronic non-specific low back pain: a systematic review. Occup Environ Med. 2008;65(8):507–517.PubMedCrossRef

36.

Heymans MW, de Vet HCW, Knol DL, Bongers PM, Koes BW, van Mechelen W. Workers’ beliefs and expectations affect return to work over 12 months. J Occup Rehabil. 2006;16(4):685–695.PubMedCrossRef

37.

Lötters F, Burdorf A. Prognostic factors for duration of sickness absence due to musculoskeletal disorders. Clin J Pain. 2006;22(2):212–221.PubMedCrossRef

38.

Schultz IZ, Crook J, Berkowitz J, Milner R, Meloche GR. Predicting return to work after low back injury using the psychosocial risk for occupational disability instrument: a validation study. J Occup Rehabil. 2005;15(3):365–376.PubMedCrossRef

39.

Turner JA, Franklin G, Fulton-Kehoe D, Sheppard L, Wickizer TM, Wu R, et al. Worker recovery expectations and fear-avoidance predict work disability in a population-based workers’ compensation back pain sample. Spine. 2006;31(6):682–689.PubMedCrossRef

40.

Cole DC, Mondloch MV, Hogg-Johnson S. Listening to injured workers: how recovery expectations predict outcomes: a prospective study. Can Med Assoc J. 2002;166(6):749–754.

41.

Steenstra IA, Busse JW, Hogg-Johnson S. Predicting return to work for workers with low-back pain. In: Handbook of Work Disability. New York, NY Springer New York; 2013. p. 255–266.

42.

Stewart AM, Polak E, Young R, Schultz IZ. Injured workers’ construction of expectations of return to work with sub-acute back pain: the role of perceived uncertainty. J Occup Rehabil. 2012;22(1):1–14.PubMedCrossRef

43.

Kuijer W, Groothoff JW, Brouwer S, Geertzen JHB, Dijkstra PU. Prediction of sickness absence in patients with chronic low back pain: a systematic review. J Occup Rehabil. 2006;16(3):439–467.PubMedCrossRef

44.

Sandström J, Esbjörnsson E. Return to work after rehabilitation. The significance of the patient’s own prediction. Scand J Rehabil Med. 1986;18(1):29–33.PubMed

45.

Sandström J. Clinical and social factors in rehabilitation of patients with chronic low back pain. Scand J Rehabil Med. 1986;18(1):35–43.PubMed

46.

Hoefsmit N, Houkes I, Nijhuis FJ. Intervention characteristics that facilitate return to work after sickness absence: a systematic literature review. J Occup Rehabil. 2012;22(4):462–477.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

47.

Schandelmaier S, Ebrahim S, Burkhardt SCA, de Boer WEL, Zumbrunn T, Guyatt GH, et al. Return to work coordination programmes for work disability: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. PLoS ONE. 2012;7(11):e49760.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

48.

van Oostrom SH, Driessen MT, de Vet HCW, Franche R-L, Schonstein E, Loisel P, et al. Workplace interventions for preventing work disability. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009;2:CD006955.

49.

Arends I, Bruinvels DJ, Rebergen DS, Nieuwenhuijsen K, Madan I, Neumeyer-Gromen A, et al. Interventions to facilitate return to work in adults with adjustment disorders. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;12:CD006389.PubMed

50.

Cornelius LR, van der Klink JJL, Groothoff JW, Brouwer S. Prognostic factors of long term disability due to mental disorders: a systematic review. J Occup Rehabil. 2011;21(2):259–274.PubMedCrossRef

51.

Hensing G, Wahlström R (2004) Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care SBU Chapter 7 Sickness absence and psychiatric disorders. Scand J Public Health Suppl 32(63): 152–180.

52.

Clay FJ, Devlin A, Kerr E. Exploring the distribution and determinants of a change in recovery expectations following traumatic injury to Victorian workers. J Occup Rehabil. 2013;23(3):318–328.PubMedCrossRef

53.

Linton SJ, Boersma K, Jansson M, Svärd L, Botvalde M. The effects of cognitive-behavioral and physical therapy preventive interventions on pain-related sick leave: a randomized controlled trial. Clin J Pain. 2005;21(2):109–119.PubMedCrossRef

54.

Lamb SE, Hansen Z, Lall R, Castelnuovo E, Withers EJ, Nichols V, et al. Group cognitive behavioural treatment for low-back pain in primary care: a randomised controlled trial and cost-effectiveness analysis. Lancet. 2010;375(9718):916–923.PubMedCrossRef

55.

Strong J. Incorporating cognitive-behavioral therapy with occupational therapy: A comparative study with patients with low back pain. J Occup Rehab. 1998;8(1):61–71.CrossRef

56.

Chalmers I. The Cochrane collaboration: preparing, maintaining, and disseminating systematic reviews of the effects of health care. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1993;703(1):156–163.PubMedCrossRef

57.

Guzman J, Hayden J, Furlan AD, Cassidy JD, Loisel P, Flannery J, et al. Key factors in back disability prevention: a consensus panel on their impact and modifiability: A consensus panel on their impact and modifiability. Spine. 2007;32(7):807–815.PubMedCrossRef

58.

Carlsson L, Lytsy P, Anderzén I, Hallqvist J, Wallman T, Gustavsson C. Motivation for return to work and actual return to work among people on long-term sick leave due to pain syndrome or mental health conditions. Disabil Rehabil. 2019;41(25):3061–3070.PubMedCrossRef

59.

Ullrich A, Rath HM, Otto U, Kerschgens C, Raida M, Hagen-Aukamp C, et al. Identifying expectations of delayed return to work in patients with prostate cancer at the beginning of a cancer rehabilitation program. J Occup Rehabil. 2020;30(2):183–193.PubMedCrossRef

Title: Expectations for Return to Work Predict Return to Work in Workers with Low Back Pain: An Individual Participant Data (IPD) Meta-Analysis
Authors: Victoria Sullivan
Maria N. Wilson
Douglas P. Gross
Ole Kudsk Jensen
William S. Shaw
Ivan A. Steenstra
Jill A. Hayden
Publication date: 12-02-2022
Publisher: Springer US
Keywords: Back Pain
Back Pain
Back Pain
Published in: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation / Issue 4/2022
Print ISSN: 1053-0487
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3688
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-022-10027-w

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Expectations for Return to Work Predict Return to Work in Workers with Low Back Pain: An Individual Participant Data (IPD) Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 4/2022

Participatory Ergonomics Intervention to Prevent Work Disability Among Workers with Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial in Workplace Setting

Two-Year Follow-Up on Return to Work in a Randomised Controlled Trial Comparing Brief and Multidisciplinary Intervention in Employees on Sick Leave Due to Low Back Pain

Demand-side Employment Interventions for Individuals with Common Mental Disorders: a Scoping Review

Competencies for Physiotherapists Working to Facilitate Rehabilitation, Work Participation and Return to Work for Workers with Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Scoping Review

Work-related support in clinical care for patients with a chronic disease: development of an intervention

The Process of Rehabilitation, Return and Stay at Work of Aging Workers Who Suffered an Occupational Injury: A Portrait Based on the Experience of Canadian Stakeholders