• Marit V Forslund, Juan C Arango-Lasprilla, Cecilie Roe, Paul B Perrin, Solrun Sigurdardottir, and Nada Andelic.
• Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Oslo University Hospital , Oslo , Norway .
• Brain Inj. 2014 Jan 1;28(7):980-6.

Primary ObjectivesTo examine trajectories of employment probability and stability over the first 5 years after traumatic brain injury (TBI) by using multi-level modelling and multinomial logistic regressions.Research DesignA longitudinal cohort study.Methods And ProceduresOne hundred and five individuals with moderate-to-severe TBI who had been admitted to the Trauma Referral Centre for the Southeast region of Norway were followed up at 1, 2 and 5 years after the injury.Main Outcomes And ResultsEmployment status was dichotomized into employed and unemployed, while employment stability was categorized into stably employed, unstably employed and unemployed at 1, 2 and 5 years after injury. Being single, unemployment prior to injury, blue collar occupation, lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score at hospital admission and greater length of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) were significantly associated with being unemployed at 1, 2 and 5 years post-injury. Further, younger patients, those with a lower GCS, greater length of PTA and greater length of hospital stay were negatively associated with employment stability.ConclusionsIt could be wise to target patient population with these demographic and injury characteristics for more extensive follow-ups and vocational rehabilitation to help improve employment outcomes following injury.

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