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Table 2 Baseline characteristics and time to RTW of study participants (n = 334)

From: Predictors of return to work following motor vehicle related orthopaedic trauma

Variable No. (%) Median time to RTW Logrank Test
p value
Age 334   
Injury Severity Score    0.09
 Minor - moderate 1-8 84 204  
 Serious 9-15 198 240  
 Severe - critical 16-75 52 259  
New Injury Severity Score    0.002
 Minor - moderate 1-8 63 204  
 Serious 9-15 144 203  
 Severe - critical 16-75 127 305  
Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantagea    0.57
 Most disadvantaged 89 215  
 Disadvantaged 34 365  
 Average 64 270  
 Advantaged 78 207  
 Most advantaged 69 198  
Sex    0.69
 Female 67 199  
 Male 267 244  
Marital status    0.47
 Single 147 244  
 Married/de facto 167 212  
 Divorced/widowed/separated 18 270  
Education skill levelb    0.13
 Bachelor degree and above 60 138  
 Certificate and advanced diploma 143 213  
 Secondary education 118 305  
Pre-primary and primary education 10 229  
Occupation skill levelb    0.01
 Managers/administrators/professionals/associate professionals 78 125  
 Tradespersons/advanced clerical and service workers 111 229  
 Intermediate clerical/sale/service production/transport workers 52 396  
 Elementary clerical/sales/service/labourers/related workers 92 340  
Work level before injury    0.87
 Full Duties 321 231  
 Part Duties 13 213  
Work hours before injuryc    0.14
 Full-time 273 215  
 Part-time 57 302  
Pre-injury job satisfactiond    0.28
 Satisfied 320 231  
 Not Satisfied 14 342  
Recovery expectations for work    0.08
 Yes 298 212  
 No 32 280  
Recovery expectations for usual activities    <0.001
 ≤90 202 177  
 >90 111 455  
Language other than English    0.08
 Yes 108 250  
 No 226 231  
Total yearly household incomee (before tax, AU) excluding number of people in household    0.17
 ≤$39,999 53 302  
 $40,000-$79,999 110 250  
 ≥$80,000 148 194  
Total adjusted yearly household incomee (before tax, AU) including number of people in household    0.47
 ≤$39,999 153 240  
 $40,000-$79,999 121 250  
 ≥$80,000 37 154  
Body Mass Index (BMI)f (kg/m2)    0.54
 <18.50 (underweight) 6 407  
 18.50-24.99 (normal) 123 213  
 ≥25.00 (overweight) 124 203  
 ≥30.00 (obese) 79 302  
Smoking history    0.02
 Current smoker 89 394  
 Ex-smoker 90 207  
 Never smoked 153 199  
Self-reported chronic illnesses    0.88
 Yes 93 215  
 No 241 240  
Medication use    0.93
 Yes 67 229  
 No 266 237  
Recent injury other than crash    0.40
 Yes 16 365  
 No 316 231  
Risk of long term harm due to alcohol consumptiong (standard drinksh/week)    0.92
 Low risk - ≤28 male or ≤14 female 311 231  
 Risky - 29–42 male or 15–28 female 13 358  
 High risk - ≥43 male or ≥29 female 9 244  
Risk of short term harm due to alcohol consumptiong (yes)    0.14
 Yes 116 297  
 No 218 215  
Self-reported at-fault    0.04
 Yes 125 203  
 No 208 250  
Vehicle type    0.02
 Motor vehicle 175 276  
 Motorcycle 140 199  
 Bicycle 19 182  
Pre-morbid neck pain in last 6 months    0.70
 Yes 15 203  
 No 319 237  
Post-morbid neck pain    0.74
 Yes 59 215  
 No 275 231  
Crash on a public road    0.06
 Yes 297 240  
 No 37 156  
Self-assessed pre-injury health statusij,    0.03
 Excellent 103 240  
 Very good 137 199  
 Good 78 250  
 Fair-Poor 16 -  
Claim made by 6 months    0.08
 Yes 140 178  
 No 91 120  
Legal representation at 6 months    0.007
 Yes 95 199  
 No 136 122  
  1. aThe Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage (IRSD) is a summary measure of economic and social conditions within a particular area/postcode (e.g. employment, fluency in English and household size). It is taken from the Census of Population and Housing: Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), Cat no. 2039.0.55.001: Australian Bureau of Statistics; 2001. A low score is indicative of greater socioeconomic disadvantage
  2. bMeasures for occupation and education are from the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO), Cat. No. 1220.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics 1997 and the Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED), Cat. No. 1272.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics 2001
  3. cMeasures for full-time (usually working at least 35 hours per week) and part-time (usually working 1–35 hours per week) are from the Australian Health Survey: Users' Guide, 2011–13, Cat. No. 4363.0.55.001, Australian Bureau of Statistics
  4. dPre-injury job satisfaction is based on the stem question from the Measure of Job Satisfaction questionnaire by Traynor, M. and Wade, B. 1993
  5. eCategories of income are from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey Wave 6 Household Questionnaire
  6. fBMI classification is from the Global Database on Body Mass Index, World Health Organisation
  7. gQuestions to determine risk of harm were from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: Self-Report Version (AUDIT-C) were resourced from the Drink-less program, The University of Sydney. http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/addiction/drinkless/resources.php
  8. h1 standard drink contains 12.5 millilitres or 10 grams of alcohol according to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australian Alcohol Guidelines Health Risks and Benefits, October 2001
  9. iSelf-assessed health status is based on Question 1 from the Short Form-36, Version 2.0, (SF36v2)
  10. jNo median score for fair-poor self-assessed pre-injury health status, the median indicates that more than half did not return to work (mean = 529 days)
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BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

ISSN: 1471-2474

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