gms | German Medical Science

15th Congress of the European Forum for Research in Rehabilitation (EFRR)

15.04. - 17.04.2019, Berlin

Resilience and return to work in psychosomatic rehabilitation: Results of a prospective observation study with a 12-month follow-up

Meeting Abstract

15th Congress of the European Forum for Research in Rehabilitation (EFRR). Berlin, 15.-17.04.2019. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2019. Doc016

doi: 10.3205/19efrr016, urn:nbn:de:0183-19efrr0168

Veröffentlicht: 16. April 2019

© 2019 Stock Gissendanner et al.
Dieser Artikel ist ein Open-Access-Artikel und steht unter den Lizenzbedingungen der Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (Namensnennung). Lizenz-Angaben siehe http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Gliederung

Text

Background: Resilience refers to the capacities and resources an individual uses to overcome personal crises and sickness and to adapt to chronic stressors [1]. No study has investigated its variability and predictive value for return-to-work outcomes in rehabilitation treatment.

Aim: This study measures changes in resilience scores among patients in five-week psychosomatic rehabilitation. It measures correlations between resilience and other socio-psychological predictors of rehabilitation outcomes and assesses the predictive value of these factors for employment one year after discharge.

Method: In a sample of 401 patients, resilience was measured at the beginning and end of treatment and at 12 months post discharge. The response rate at 12 months was 73.6%. We employed the German version of the Wagnild and Young’s Relience Scale [2]. Other measures include the Hannover Self-Regulation Inventory (HSRI) to measure ego strength and the Subjective Prognosis of Employability scale.

Results/findings: The sample demonstrated a very low level of resilience in comparison to representative samples of the German population. There was a highly significant increase in average resilience over the course of rehabilitation. At 12 months, women showed a further increase whereas resilience among men did not change. At follow-up, 72.8% of patients were employed. Return to work is predicted significantly by resilience at treatment start and by resilience at end of treatment.

Discussion and conclusions: Resilience is a trait that changes during rehabilitative treatment and should be given more attention in psychosomatic rehabilitation and research. In psychotherapy involving conflicts and problems, therapists should integrate work-related factors.


References

1.
Wagnild G, Young H. Development and psychometric evaluation of the Resilience Scale. J Nurs Measurement. 1993;1(2):165-178.
2.
Schumacher J, Leppert K, Gunzelmann Z, Strauß B, Brähler E. Die Resilienzskala – Ein Fragebogen zur Erfassung der psychischen Widerstandsfähigkeit als Personmerkmal. Z Klin Psychol Psychiat Psychother. 2005;53:16-39.