Self-perceived health and return to work following work-related hand injury

Return to work is an important outcome following traumatic work-related hand injuries. It is unclear how psychosocial factors affect the time to return to work following traumatic work-related hand injury. To investigate the relationships between hand injury severity, self-perceived health, demographics and time off work (TOW) following traumatic work-related hand injuries and the influence of psychosocial factors on the readiness of return to work. Data from 120 traumatic work-related hand injured patients were gathered. The Modified Hand Injury Severity Score (MHISS) and Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) were used to assess the severity of hand trauma and self-perceived health, respectively. The relationships between MHISS, SF-36, demographics and TOW were analysed by multiple regression analysis. Mean duration of TOW was 127 days for patients with a mild MHISS, 108 days for a moderate score, 160 days for a severe score and 236 days for those with a major score. A positive correlation between MHISS and duration of TOW was identified. Self-perceived physical functioning was found to have a negative correlation with TOW, whereas self-perceived mental health was positively correlated with TOW. This study highlights the importance of self-perceived health in considering return to work following traumatic work-related hand injury.