Identification of Obstacles for Chronic Pain Patients to Return to Work: Evaluation of a Questionnaire
Abstract
The Obstacles to Return-to-Work Questionnaire (ORQ) was developed and evaluated. A total of 154 patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain and prolonged work disability participated in the study. Factor analyses reduced the ORQ to 55 items grouped into 9 subscales. The subscales were named "Depression," "Pain intensity," "Difficulties at work return," "Physical workload and harmfulness," "Social support at work," "Worry due to sick leave," "Work satisfaction," "Family situation and support," and "Perceived prognosis of work return." The subscales showed satisfactory reliability. In order to determine predictive validity a discriminant analysis was conducted with sick leave 9 months after assessment as the outcome. This analysis indicated that the scales "Perceived prognosis of work return," "Social support at work," "Physical workload and harmfulness," "Depression," and "Pain intensity" could significantly predict sick leave and correctly classified 79% of the patients. The Multidimensional Pain Inventory and the Disability Rating Index could also significantly predict sick leave in this sample and correctly classified as many patients as the ORQ. However, these questionnaires do not include any work-oriented items and they had a lower specificity than the ORQ. This study suggests that patients' perceptions and beliefs about work and returning to work may be a significant hindrance for actual recovery.
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In Marhold et al.'s study, for women who had been out of work because of musculoskeletal pain for a short period (2 to 6 months), cognitive-behavioral intervention was significantly more effective than a control condition in reducing days of sick leave, improving activity level, and enhancing coping.
“Data analyses showed that, for women who had been out of work for a short period of time, the cognitive-behavioral intervention was significantly more effective than a control condition in reducing days of sick leave, improving activity level, and enhancing coping.”
From Psychological aspects of persistent pain: Current state of the science (2004) · cites this paper as [70]
In Marhold et al.'s study, the same cognitive-behavioral intervention had no significant effect for women who had been out of work for a long time period (more than 12 months).
“However, the same cognitive-behavioral intervention had no significant effect for women who had been out of work for a long time period.”
From Psychological aspects of persistent pain: Current state of the science (2004) · cites this paper as [70]
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References 29 · Cited by 130
- Authors
- Marhold, C., Linton, S. J., & Melin, L.
- Affiliations
- Uppsala University (SE)
- Örebro University Hospital (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Marhold, Charlotta
- ORCID
- Linton, Steven J.
- Venue
- Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation
- Published
- 2002-06
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 65-75
- ISSN
- 1053-0487 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-3688
- OpenAlex
- W1600757085
- Cited by
- 130
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 3.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Medical Practices and Rehabilitation
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Workplace Health and Well-being
- Keywords
- return to work, chronic musculoskeletal pain, work disability, sick leave, depression, pain intensity, social support at work, job satisfaction, family support, physical workload, questionnaire development, predictive validity, Multidimensional Pain Inventory
- MeSH terms
- Back Pain, Chronic Disease, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Musculoskeletal Diseases, Occupational Diseases, Pain, Prognosis, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sweden, Work Capacity Evaluation, Reproducibility of Results, Discriminant Analysis, Sick Leave, Neck Pain, Shoulder Pain
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