Issue

Most concussion symptoms resolve within one month, but up to 30% of individuals with concussion will continue to have persisting symptoms for months to years after injury. The direct and indirect costs to society are staggering, impacting individuals’ personal income, workplace efficiencies, school performance, and health care expenses. Return to the work following injury has immense benefit to the individual, work force and society. Work in general provides a sense of satisfaction and purpose, along with the necessities of income support. Delayed or prolonged absence from the workforce has cumulative societal implications and more generally impacts productivity and health care utilization costs. By understanding factors contributing to a successful return to work in 6 weeks as well as factors that influence a protracted return to work, we will be able to identify potential modifiable treatment targets and provide guidance for clinicians.

Objectives

• To examine prognostic indicators of return to work in adults presenting to the Foothills Medical Centre Emergency Department in Calgary, AB with a concussion from October 2024 - March 2026. The primary aim is to determine what clinical and demographic factors contribute to a successful return to work at 6 weeks post-injury.

• To characterize the compensatory factors (e.g. graduated return to work, workplace modifications, work hardening program) and quality of return to work (e.g. return to previous vocation, return to full time status) utilized to return to work within 6 weeks post injury.

• We will continue to follow patients who have not returned to work, up to 24 weeks post-injury, to characterize prognostic factors contributing to a protracted return to work.

Anticipated Results

Our project aims to identify factors that may prolong return to work after concussion. By effectively identifying these risk factors, we can not only predict when and how someone will return to work after concussion, but also identify modifiable risk factors that could become potential treatment targets to reduce the burden of concussion on return to work. Identifying individuals at risk of longer return to work after concussion would allow physicians to refer these patients to resources for concussion recovery and could reduce prolonged disability. Results of this study could also inform a prognostic tool for return-to-work post-concussion would provide both employees and employers with a more accurate prediction of timing and recommendations to enhance quality of work.