Exploring ‘Return to Productivity’ Among People Living with Burn Injury: a Burn Model System National Database Report
Abstract Introduction Burn survivors experience barriers to returning to work. For those who do return to work, little is known regarding whether they achieve pre-injury productivity (i.e., equivalent or gain in income compared to pre-injury income). Identifying patients at risk of not achieving pre-injury productivity is important for targeting services that support this population. Methods We extracted occupational and income data through 24 months post-injury from the multi-center, longitudinal Burn Model System National Database. Annual income was reported in six groups: <$25k, $25k-50k, $50k-99k, $100k-149k, $150k-199k, $>199k. Participants were classified by change in income at each follow up (i.e., gain, loss, equivalent). Explanatory variables included demographics, injury characteristics, insurance payer, employment status, and job type. Multi-level, multi-variable logistic regression was used to model return to productivity. Results 453 participants provided complete income data at discharge and follow up. Of the 302 participants employed pre-injury, 180 (60%) returned to work within 24 months post-injury. Less than half (138) returned to productivity (46% of participants employed pre-injury; 77% of those who returned to work). Characteristics associated with return to productivity included older age (median 46.9 vs 45.9 years, OR 1.03, p=0.006), Hispanic ethnicity (24% vs 11%, OR 1.80, p=0.041), burn size >20% TBSA (33.7% vs 33.0%, OR 2.09, p=0.045), and post-injury employment (54% vs 26%, OR 3.41, p<0.001). Conclusion More than half of employed people living with burn injury experienced loss in productivity within 24 months post-injury. Even if they return to work, people living with burn injuries face challenges returning to productivity and may benefit from vocational rehabilitation and/or financial assistance.