Navigating the return-to-work journey post-stroke
Interventions, challenges and facilitators
In 2016, there were 80.1 million stroke survivors and 13.7 million new strokes worldwide, resulting in 116.4 million disability-adjusted life years.
Approximately one-fourth of stroke survivors are of working age, and returning to work is vital for their well-being and reducing the economic costs associated with stroke, which include lost workdays and reduced productivity.
Returning to work after a stroke is important not only for economic reasons but also because it can enhance recovery and psychosocial well-being. Being out of the workforce due to disability also has psychosocial costs, impacting an individual's social capital, sense of purpose, quality of life, and standard of living.
The challenges in returning to work after a stroke are not limited to physical impairments but also include cognitive, mood-related, and communication disorders. Communication disorders, such as aphasia, can be significant barriers to returning to work, with lower return-to-work rates for individuals with such impairments compared to the general population of stroke survivors.
Despite advancements in stroke rehabilitation and medical treatments, return-to-work rates have not significantly improved over the years. Evidence-based interventions are needed to support stroke survivors in returning to work.
A scoping review provides a comprehensive overview of the existing literature on post-stroke return-to-work interventions, factors, barriers, and facilitators.
The scoping review is the initial step in a program of research to design an intervention to support return to work for people with post-stroke communication disorders. The review identifies and examines the literature on post-stroke return to work in general and also specific to communication disorders in order to inform this design.
The scoping review can be access in the September issue of JBI Evidence Synthesis.
Coutts, Emma; Cooper, Kay
JBI Evidence Synthesis 21(9):p 1794-1837, September 2023. | DOI: 10.11124/JBIES-22-00174