G. Nordstrombjorverud et U. Moritz, INTERDISCIPLINARY REHABILITATION OF HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES WITH MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS, Scandinavian journal of rehabilitation medicine, 30(1), 1998, pp. 31-37
At Lund University Hospital a cooperation project started in 1989 betw
een the Rehabilitation Clinic and the Occupational Health Service Unit
for the rehabilitation of 34 hospital employees with musculoskeletal
problems and a median sick-listing time of 6 months, treated as day-pa
tients by an interdisciplinary team, Evaluation instruments used were
the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), Pain Drawing, Visual Analogue Sca
le for pain, and the Disability Rating Index (DRI), The most prominent
immediate effect was a significant increase of perceived energy and s
ignificant improvement of the total score of health-related quality of
life (NHP). After 12 months, 25 out of 34 (74%) subjects had returned
to work, The reference group used consisted of 57 subjects referred e
arlier from the Occupational Health Service Unit to the Personnel Depa
rtment, for vocational rehabilitation, The groups were followed by 2-4
years using questionnaires concerning working conditions and current
health status, There was a significant difference (p = 0.038) in retur
n to work: intervention group 77%, reference group 58%.