Replication of a Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial of Resource Facilitation to Improve Return to Work and School After Brain Injury

ObjectiveTo determine the extent to which previous findings on the effectiveness of resource facilitation to impact return to work and school could be replicated.DesignRandomized controlled trial.SettingOutpatient rehabilitation clinic.ParticipantsOutpatients with acquired brain injury (N=44).InterventionFifteen months of resource facilitation services.Main Outcome MeasuresA revised version of the Vocational Independence Scale and the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 Participation Index.ResultsParticipants randomized to the resource facilitation group demonstrated a significant advantage in terms of rate and timing of return to productive community-based work relative to control participants. When examining only return to competitive work (and not return to school), 69% of the resource facilitation group was able to return compared with 50% of the control participants. Analyses of measures of participation in household and community activities revealed that both groups improved significantly over the 15-month study period, but no significant advantage for either group was demonstrated.ConclusionsThis study replicates the positive impact of resource facilitation in improving productive community-based activity, including competitive employment and volunteering in the community.