Table 1

Summary of studies included in the systematic analysis*

StudySample (response rate)Study design, follow-up timeExposure(s)Outcome(s)
Autret et al (2015)76 French patients with ABI aged 18–60 years from a rehabilitation clinic followed up by an occupational therapist (N/A)Longitudinal, >2 years’ follow-upBlue collar versus white collarRTW versus no RTW
Bonner et al (2016)141 Indian patients with stroke aged 18–60 years from tertiary medical centres (NR)Cross-sectional, N/AManual labour versus business or professional labour (written/oral self-report)RTW versus no RTW
Bonneterre et al (2013)100 French TBI adult participants enrolled in a programme for work reintegration (‘SPASE’†), wishing to RTW (N/A)Longitudinal, ‘short term’ (2–3 years) and ‘medium term’ (over 3 years)
2-year follow-up

  1. Workplace support (present or absent).

  2. Occupational assistance (sporadic or regular).

RTW 2–3 years after injury and over 3 years after injury
de Koning et al (2017)319 Dutch employees with mild TBI at the emergency department (74%)Longitudinal; 6 and 12 months
after injury

  1. Professional/managerial (eg, executive or managerial function) or skilled (eg, sales and administrative support) or manual labour (eg, machine operators and private household).

  2. Workload in hours per week (40 hours/week=full time).

Complete RTW (same work hours preinjury and postinjury) versus no/part RTW (less work hours postinjury than preinjury), 6 and 12 months after injury
Endo et al (2016)382 Japanese employees with stroke (N/A)Longitudinal; 2, 4, 6 and 12 months after first sickness absence day

  1. Manual versus desk worker.

  2. Manager versus non-manager.

  3. Company size (≤999 employees or ≥1000 employees).

(1) Full RTW or (2) resignation for the 365-day period following first day of sickness absence
Hannerz et al (2011)19 903 Danish employees with stroke, aged 20–57 years (99.6%)Longitudinal, 2 years after strokeOccupational class
(DISCO-88 classification: (1) Legislators, senior officials and managers; (2) technicians and associate professionals; (3) workers in occupations that require basic skills; (4) workers in elementary occupations; (5) gainfully occupied people with unknown occupation)		Odds of returning to work
Hannerz et al (2012)12 106 Danish employees with stroke, aged 21–57 years (92%)Longitudinal, 2 years after strokeEnterprise size (micro, 1–9 employees; small, 10–49; medium, 50–249; large, ≥250)Odds of returning to work
Johnson (1987)47 British employees with severe TBI (NR)Longitudinal, mean follow-up time 3.5 years after injury (minimum of 2.5 years)

  1. Normal work conditions (normal full-time and part time).

  2. Return under special conditions (easier work, testing of employees’ capability, informal return, liaison with the rehab. unit, work training and workplace support).

Continuous employment for at least 1 year after injury
Ntsiea et al (2015)80 South African patients with stroke, aged 18–60 year (96.4%)Randomised controlled trial,
6 months after intervention (circa 8 months after injury)		Workplace intervention tailored according to functional ability and workplace challengesRTW 6 months after intervention (circa 8 months after injury)
Saeki et al (1995)183 Japanese patients with stroke, younger than 65 years (N/A)Longitudinal; 6, 12 and 18 months and up to approximately 3 years after hospital admission for injuryWhite collar versus blue collarRTW 1 month or more in active employment after stroke
van Dongen et al (2018)58 Dutch patients with ABI (87.9%)Longitudinal, follow-up 3–6 years after the vocational rehabilitation (around 4–7 years after injury)Vocational rehabilitation programme with multidisciplinary assessment, stakeholder meetings (including family, employer and coworker), on-the job training and coachingRTW
(performing paid work: yes/no)
Vestling et al (2003)120 Swedish patients with stroke, younger than 60 years (N/A)Longitudinal, minimum of 6 months poststroke (average of 2.7 years after injury)White-collar and blue-collar dichotomised (yes/no) (Swedish socioeconomic classification)Work/no work
Walker et al (2006)1926 North American patients with TBI, aged 18–62 years (100%)Longitudinal, follow-up 1 year postinjuryProfessional/managerial, skilled or manual labour (The International Standard Classification of Occupations)Competitive employment at 1 year postinjury

  • Only exposures and outcomes tested for statistical significance are presented in table 1.

  • DISCO-88 is an acronym for Denmark's Standad Classification of Occupations.

  • *Sample refers to the number of participants according to response rate. N/A, for example, response rate for retrospective studies. NR, for example, response rate in registry cross-sectional study.

  • † SPASE is a non-English abbreviation of 'personalized service of accompaniment and follow-up to employment'.

  • ABI, acquired brain injury;N/A, not applicable; NR, not relevant; RTW, return to work; TBI, traumatic brain injury.